Uninvited
by reno-xxxXXXxxx
Summary: Who would have thought such a simple mission could go so horribly wrong? Rated T for swearing, sexual themes and mild horror. RenoxElena. Final Chapter is up!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Damn, I've been working on this chapter for the best part of 2 weeks now, and it's so long

So yeah, this is my new story. I figured as 'The Reno Diet' is nearly finished, I might as well put this up now. I worked really, really hard on this so I hope you all enjoy it. I know I can rely on a few people to review, but I'm hoping to pick up a few new reviewers. Sooo... I decided to try a new genre, not too different from what I've been doing, but just a little extra.

So yeah, I think that about it. So enjoy, and PLEASE review. On one of my stories, I have over 100000 hits, and two hundred and something reviews. I would like to know what you guys think. : )**

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**Chapter One**

"Reno? What are you doing?"

The red-head in question was standing in the hallway, looking out of the window when the blonde woman approached him curiously.

"Admiring the view." Reno said, not turning his gaze away from the window. Elena wasn't sure if he was being sarcastic or not.

"Sure…" Elena rolled her eyes. "What are you really doing?"

"Just thought I saw something…" Reno said, finally turning to Elena. The blonde wasn't sure if he was telling the truth or not, because his aquamarine eyes showed no emotion at all.

"Okay then…" Elena replied uncertainly. "Well, come with me. Tseng wants to see you."

"Sounds fun. Why?" Reno said casually.

"I don't know, but he wanted both of us, so my guess is a mission of some sort." Elena told him. She rolled her eyes at the sudden enlightened look that came to his face.

"Finally!" He cried excitedly. "It'd better be fuckin' exciting this time…"

* * *

"Ah, nice of you to _finally _arrive." Tseng said upon their arrival. He indicated them to sit down.

"Please say it's a mission, please?" Reno blurted out straight away, sitting heavily down on a chair. Tseng smiled slightly at Reno.

"I appreciate your… enthusiasm, Reno. Yes, it is a mission, but not a terribly exciting one." Tseng said, looking at Elena with a slightly awkward look in his eyes. "As Reno probably hasn't heard with his less-than-perfect attention span…" Tseng coughed and Reno turned in his chair to face Tseng. "… anyway, a large amount of materia has been stolen."

"What the hell?" Reno interrupted. "Why do people keep stealing materia? It's not like there's a shortage of it… just go steal it from some shop." Elena couldn't help but laugh as she was expecting Reno to say they could just buy it, which of course, defeated the whole point. As usual, she had over-estimated his logic… or under-estimated.

"There is in fact a shortage of materia…" Tseng told him. "Destruct materia has been difficult to get hold of for a while, and that's why most of our supply has been stolen."

"We have received an anonymous tip-off," Tseng continued, ignoring Reno's interruption. "That our materia has been transported to the Forgotten City."

Elena stared at him, her mouth slightly open. "Forgotten City? You mean-?"

"Yes." Tseng answered before she could finish. "The Northern Crater."

"Are you an idiot?" Reno said loudly. Miraculously, he had managed to keep obscenities to a minimum through most of the conversation. It looked to Elena like that was about to change. "The Northern fuckin' crater? Jenova? Sephiroth? None of that ring a bell?"

"Aw, is poor little Reno scared?" Elena said mockingly.

"Bite me. I'm not scared and I ain't little." Reno said, glaring at the blonde.

"Yeah, you're a scrawny little-"

"Learn to shut ya mouth, before I shut it for ya-"

"That's enough." Tseng said commandingly. "Anyway Reno, let me finish the mission briefing before you get worked up."

"Right, whatever. Just get on with it." Reno said, pouting slightly.

"Okay, this should be a fairly simple mission. I'm not sending you to _necessarily_ retrieve the materia. I want you two to survey the area as inconspicuously as possible." Tseng looked at Reno. "Which I realize is more difficult for some."

Reno coughed slightly and deliberately looked away from Tseng.

"Anyway, I need you to find out as much information as possible, because I believe that this is much deeper than just stolen materia."

"Ya don't say?" Reno interrupted sarcastically. "No one else woulda suspected that our fuckin' materia would be hoarded at the home of all things bad-ass for a reason."

"Thank you, Reno." Tseng coughed slightly. Ignoring your obscenities and unnecessary interruptions… you understand what I want you to do right?" Elena nodded enthusiastically. "Good. Reno will be in charge of transport."

"Oh God…" Elena muttered.

"Chopper?" Reno asked elatedly.

"Yes. But be serious about your piloting Reno." Tseng said, adopting a deadly serious look in his eyes. "There is a large amount of interference around the Northern Cave area, and it can interfere with electrical equipment."

"Alrighty then…" Reno stood up. "Although you would of though I would know how to pilot a fuckin' chopper by now… can I go now?"

"If you don't have any questions… You can leave for the mission tomorrow morning."

"Sweet." Reno left promptly, but Elena stayed seated. She did in fact have questions. There was something she had been curious about for a while now, but never had really thought to ask.

"Is there a problem Elena?" Tseng asked, putting his fingertips together.

"Not exactly." Elena replied slightly awkwardly. "I was just… curious about something… about Reno."

"Ah." Tseng said, smiling. "In the short while you've been with us, I'm surprised how little you've asked about Reno."

"Well, it's not just about Reno… it's you too." The blonde told him. "The way you treat him."

"I understand." Tseng said, nodding. "Reno is the best Turks we've had working for us for a long time. No matter what he seems on the outside, he is more intelligent that anyone knows."

"So why does he act so dumb?" Elena enquired.

"Because he's smart." Tseng said, smiling at the confused look on Elena's face. "He's good at acting dumb, that way no one has high expectations from him."

"But he always gets so cocky… he… acts smart… what the-?"

"Mind play." Tseng said amusedly. "Typical of Reno to confuse someone when he's not even in the room."

"I think… so the reason you treat him like an idiot-?"

"It works the same. Have you even heard the term self fulfilling prophecy? It means when someone is labelled an idiot, for example, they automatically begin acting like that. It's human nature."

"Right…" Elena said, guessing where this was going.

"So, like before, Reno works the opposite way. He will always work against any label anyone gives him, whether it's bad or good. He's a rogue."

"So why are you so keen to keep him here?"

"We put up with a lot from him, but it's worth it. I've been working on him for years, and I don't claim to understand him at all." Tseng paused, looking thoughtful. "That's enough for today. But take note, Elena; you have to be careful. I know this mission is simple, but it's your biggest with Reno so far. Although I tell you he's a fantastic Turk, his one big fault is that his ego usually comes before his sense of what is right, and what is wrong."

"Why are you telling me this?" Elena asked. She wondered how something like this could be relevant to the mission they were about to do.

"Not necessarily for this mission, but for future reference. You haven't been here very long, and I think you should know as much as you possibly can about Reno." Tseng stopped, as though thinking of a way to put what he was about to say. "Put it this way… it doesn't matter what's going on around him, if someone compliments Reno, that'll always be his first priority. It'll take a big shock to stop him from doing that."

Elena nodded, wondering if Tseng was maybe exaggerating a little. "I understand."

"Good." Tseng said, his tone becoming kinder. The atmosphere in the office loosened and Elena breathed out heavily. "Ok then. You could be away for a few days, so make sure you take some things with you."

"Right." Elena said, trying to take in everything he was saying.

"Everything okay now?" the raven haired man asked kindly.

"Yeah, I think so…" Elena said quietly. There was nothing else she wanted to ask Tseng, but there was a certain uneasiness in her mind she couldn't quite place. Maybe it was what Tseng had just told her about Reno's ego. Could that mean he was telling her from experience? Had something happened; something serious, because Reno was too wrapped up in his own mind to pay any attention? For some reason, Elena thought there was more to it than that; she didn't think Reno would be that careless. But then again, Tseng had known Reno for a lot longer than she had. Well, she would soon find out.

* * *

As Elena exited Tseng's office, she bumped into the red head in her thoughts. He was running for some reason, and panting slightly.

"Oh, hey 'Laney." He said breathlessly.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked. It seemed she was asking him that question more and more often these days.

"Nothin'." He said quickly, his lively, aqua eyes darting back and forth. "Just ran into Hojo, that's all."

"Right…" Elena said unsurely. She had learned long ago to never question anything Reno said that had the word 'Hojo' in it.

"So, ya know what's happenin' tomorrow?" he asked. "You come to my apartment, then we'll go from there. Any questions?"

Elena shook her head, slightly dumb-founded at the sudden serious tone Reno had taken.

"Good. 8 AM sharp. Don't be late." Reno winked and walked off. Elena laughed slightly to herself; she knew for a fact that Reno would keep her waiting tomorrow.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Yay, this chapter is exactly the same length as the last one XD I'm trying to bulk up my chapters, starting with this story, coz to be honest 500 words isn't long enough.

I tried very hard again, I hope you like it. And please review. Thanks to everyone who reviewed chapter 1**

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**Chapter Two**

Elena awoke promptly at just before seven in the morning; she had beaten her alarm clock and lay in bed, thinking about what she might face that day. She had dreamed strangely, especially as she never usually remembered her dreams. Her night-time thoughts had been haunted with images of the Forgotten City, Sephiroth and Avalanche. It took her a few minutes to recover from the strange thoughts when she woke up, and just as soon as she had calmed down, her alarm begin to ring, causing her to jump.

Sighing, she reached over and turned off the loud, obnoxious alarm and turned over in her warm bed, not wanting to retreat into the cold. It was dark outside, which was surprising as it was nearly the end of March. The weather was murky, and as far as she could see out the window, it had been raining heavily through the night.

'_Great weather for a mission…'_ Elena thought grimly to herself, crawling out of bed and grabbing a clean shirt from her cupboard.

It didn't take her long to get dressed into her Turk's uniform, and she pulled her hair brush through her blonde hair, wincing slightly as the brush caught in the tangles caused by the night of disturbed sleep. Looking at her watch, she saw that she only had 10 minutes left before she had to meet Reno. So much for getting up early for the mission; she must have stayed in bed longer than she thought.

'_Oh well… Reno won't be up anyway…"_ she thought to herself, shuffling into the kitchen to make herself some coffee.

As she poured her coffee, she was still thinking about what had been running through her head when she went to bed last night, and what Tseng had said about Reno when she was talking to him yesterday. Her mind wondered to after her meeting with Tseng, and when Reno had met her outside. He had seemed jumpy, and even though he had said he was running way from Hojo, he wasn't breathing heavily enough to have been doing so. Could it have been that he was listening to her and Tseng's conversation? She wouldn't put it past him, but why would he? That would mean that he'd heard everything, and he knew exactly the reasoning behind the way Tseng treated him… but maybe he already knew in the first place.

Taking a sip of her freshly made coffee, she looked out of the window again. It was already getting light, or supposedly, but the clouds made it seem all-round darker. It was truly a depressing day. She drank the coffee quickly, and then headed back to her bedroom to pack some things to take with her. She figured she would only need a few clean clothes so she put them carefully into a pale green duffel bag. Sighing heavily, she looked at her watch again, it was exactly 8 o'clock. Perfect timing.

* * *

It only took Elena about 10 minutes to walk to Reno apartment, but by the time she got there, her clothes and hair were saturated. She knocked loudly on Reno's door, but got no reply. As usual, the door was left unlocked, so she just welcomed herself.

As she entered the living room, the first thing she saw was the materia on the table. The blonde remembered how much the strange magical substance had fascinated her when she was a child. If only she knew then that she would grow up only to kill with the thing that had soothed her with its glowing warmth.

Tearing her eyes away from the materia, she looked at Reno. The redhead was predictably asleep on his couch. Somehow he had managed to get himself half-dressed and then fallen asleep before he could finish the job. He was wearing his black trousers, and no shirt, revealing an impossibly pale stomach and chest, where his ribs jutted out slightly. He held an empty cup of coffee in his hand and his mouth was slightly open, his fiery hair was messy, obviously from a sleep just as rough as Elena's had been. The blonde smiled at the slightly pitiful sight, and set her bag down on the floor behind Reno's couch,

"Reno?" She poked the redhead in the stomach, but got no reply. Instead, he moaned slightly, and put his coffee-cup free hand on his forehead.

"Reno, wake the hell up. I rushed here on purpose so we could get off early; I knew you'd do this." Elena ranted loudly.

"Jesus, calm down 'Laney. I'm awake." Reno said, although he hadn't moved an inch. Elena looked at him warily, not sure whether to trust that he was awake or not. He had been known to say some very peculiar things in his sleep.

"Reno?" Elena said loudly.

"What?"

"What's your name?"

The redhead opened an eye sceptically. "You don't trust me at all, do you? I'm fuckin' awake."

"All right." Elena said, slightly taken aback. "You need to calm down Reno."

"Yeah, sorry." He replied slightly wearily, looking at his empty coffee cup. "Do me a favour?"

"What?" Elena sighed.

"Go get me a clean shirt. They're in the cupboard in my bedroom." Reno said, smiling sheepishly.

"Fine." Elena sighed and stood up. She didn't really know why she always agreed to do anything he said, but he was just so hard to say no to. Besides, she didn't want to deprive him of the privilege of wearing a clean shirt for once.

Elena prepared for the worst as she opened Reno's bedroom door. For some reason that she would never understand, he had picked the smallest of the rooms in the 2-bedroom apartment for his bedroom. Predictably, the floor was covered in various varieties of Reno's belongings, but what was actually there; she didn't dare to find out. She stepped her way carefully over the things on the floor, and grabbed the first white shirt she saw in his cupboard. It wasn't too hard, since there wasn't really much in there anyway. Sighing, and ignoring the mess as much as she could, she walked out again, closing the door behind her. Hopefully, she wouldn't have to go in there again any time soon.

"Here." Elena said, throwing the white shirt so it landed on Reno's head. The redhead took it off, grinning.

"Cheers, 'Laney." He said happily, putting on the shirt, but not bothering to button it. Then he grabbed the materia that had been sitting on his table, and looked at Elena.

"How much space ya got in that bag?" he asked, grinning in that strange, sheepish way again.

"Give them to me." Elena said sighing; he truly was a master at getting whatever he wanted. He smirked and handed the materia to Elena, who stowed them away in her green bag.

"It's a good job I'm patient." Elena told him, while she zipped her bag up.

"You ain't patient, not at all." Reno said, still smirking. Elena was astonished; she could quite easily hand that materia back to Reno, and he would have to carry it himself, yet he still persisted to be rude to her. But then again, she had the choice to not take it, but she had chosen to do him the favour.

"I'm more patient than you. And if I wasn't patient, you would have found yourself murdered several times over by now." Elena said, although she was smiling slightly.

"Our job is to kill other people, not each other." Reno said, knowing without even looking at Elena that she was joking.

"Whatever, Reno. You have a strange idea of what our job is." Elena said, less amused, "If it was as simple as that, I wouldn't be any where near as nervous as I am now."

"You nervous?" Reno said, looking at her. "Don't be. It's not a hard mission."

"It's not the mission that I'm worried about." Elena said awkwardly. Reno moved closer to her and put his arm around her.

"What's up then? Is it 'cause of what Tseng said, 'cause… shit." Reno trailed off.

"So you were listening?" Elena said, smiling smugly at Reno, whose grip on Elena's arm had significantly tightened.

"I happened to overhear a little of it." Reno said, raising his eyebrows. "Don't listen to him 'Laney, seriously. I've only caused two deaths while on these stake out missions… forget that."

"How comforting." Elena said sarcastically, pulling away from Reno.

"Aw, c'mon 'Laney. I'm only jokin'." Reno said, pouting slightly. "C'mon, we gotta get a move on."

"Are you sure you were joking?" Elena said, dropping her angry barrier again. "I don't trust you sometimes."

"Can't you tell when I'm jokin'?" Reno said playfully.

"No." the blonde replied bluntly. She grabbed the green bag and put it on her back. "Come on then."

* * *

Elena cringed as the two of them were jerked forwards. Her stomach lurched and she looked at Reno.

"Are you sure you actually _took _those piloting lessons?" she asked him palely.

"Sure I did." Reno said happily flicking some switches on the dash of the helicopter. "Why? You feelin' sick?"

"Um… yeah…" Elena said, she felt her throat tightened as they lifted full off the ground.

"There. There was a glitch there." Reno said, flicking another switch. "Don't worry, I'll be good now." He grinned and turned to face forwards.

Elena watched the redhead carefully as he worked in silence. It was hard to believe sometimes that this Reno, and the one she had seen shirtless and asleep, were the same person. He was so immature at times, and so unprofessional about the way he went about things, but when it came down to it, he knew his stuff. What Tseng had told her the day before was already starting to show; she was starting to see how he was a lot cleverer than he usually let on. The look of immense concentration on his face was amusing, but only because she so it so little. She had to admit, with that cocky smile gone from his face, she felt a lot safer.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: **YAY chapter 3. I've tried to keep all the chapters roughly the same length, but this one is a tiny bit longer. It was only about 1000 words, but I went back and changed it so I had more description and stuff in.

Enjoy and -please- review **

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**Chapter Three**

Elena stared dully to her left as the rain splattered down on the window of the helicopter. The weather had gotten increasingly worse since they set off and she was getting bored, since there really wasn't anything to do on such a long journey. It seemed that once again, she was taking for granted things that astonished her as a small child. It was strange how things kept making her think of her childhood, she had been in that kind of mood for a while, thinking that sometimes, she wished she could be small again, and blessed with that innocent mind, and unblemished lifestyle that she had taken for granted back then.

She thought vaguely of Reno, and what his thoughts were on it. She knew he hadn't had an easy childhood, although she hadn't heard any of it from Reno. His partner Rude and keyed her in before she had been there very long. They all knew that Reno was touchy about strange subjects, and Elena really hadn't understood why. It was then, after an argument with Reno, that Rude had stepped in and told her about his rough childhood in the slums. She hadn't felt that bad in a long time, and she found herself automatically going to his office and apologizing to him. Thankfully, he had accepted her apology, and the two of them put their differences behind them.

She didn't really understand though, that he was so touchy about the subject of the slums, when he was forever ridiculing the rich. More than once he had let slip and snide remark about Elena's 'piss-easy' life.

Shaking her head to rid herself of this strange reminiscing state, Elena glanced briefly over at Reno. He hadn't said anything in a while, which was always worrying, and Elena was starting to notice that the atmosphere was somehow getting somewhat tense.

"Reno…?" Elena began, her eyes away focused on the window again.

"Something's wrong."

Elena turned sharply in her seat to face Reno properly. His face had paled suddenly and there was sweat on his brow. "What?" she said, feeling her heart begin to race.

"Interference…" Reno muttered, flicking a switch on the dash. "But we're nowhere near…"

"What?" Elena repeated. She really had no idea what was going on.

Before Reno could answer, there was a sickening clap of thunder, causing Elena to yelp, and almost instantaneously, a flash of lightening followed.

"Shit…" Reno looked practically unshaken by the interruption. "This is getting dangerous."

"Reno, don't…" Elena said, she wasn't quite sure what the point she was trying to get across was, but she stuttered anyway.

"The rain's dying down…" Reno said, more to himself than Elena. "We should be okay now…"

"Reno, no." Elena said sharply, her frustration taking over her fear.

"What?" The redhead turned to face her, confusion glinting in the depths of his aqua eyes.

"We have to land it, it's too dangerous." She demanded. "Why risk it?"

"To get the mission done." Reno said, turning away from Elena to face the front again.

Elena sighed and leant back in her chair. Reno was right in a sense, but only about the fact that the rain had died down. But the blonde could she in the dismal clouds ahead of them, there was a bigger storm brewing, and that would definitely caused interference. She didn't see how Reno couldn't have noticed this himself, but he seemed intent to carry on piloting. He was looking nervous though, and although it was slightly worrying that he was obviously losing his nerve at that moment, it was a slight relief as well. Maybe he would swallow his pride and give into the pressure, causing him to land the helicopter, and lowering the two of them into a much safer atmosphere.

Suddenly there was another clap of thunder, this time causing Reno to jump as well. He shook his head shakily and a sudden look of determination came to his eyes; Elena wasn't sure whether to be worried or not.

"Fuck…" Reno muttered to himself. "Whose stupid idea was this anyway?"

Elena didn't reply, only watched, praying that Reno would take the chopper down. Sure enough, relief washed over Elena as she felt their altitude lowering.

"Reno?" Elena began.

"Shuttup." Reno said quickly, not turning his attention away from his work. Elena leant back in her seat and closed her eyes. For some reason, she was even more nervous now, and wouldn't feel easy until they were on the floor. Even then, the storm was starting to look serious, and things could end up still being dangerous for them.

Within minutes, Reno had landed the chopper, and the engine was off. They were in complete silence, and Elena was suddenly even more aware of the storm surrounding them. Even though the rain was lighter, it was still lashing down, making quite a lot of noise against the metal shell of the helicopter. She could also hear the distant sound of the thunder, which meant that there must be more than one storm, as the other one had been right above them.

"You okay?" Reno asked, turning to her. Elena nodded her head. "What time is it?" his eyebrow raised.

Elena looked at her watch, and then suddenly realized the curiosity in Reno's voice when he had asked the question. It was strange, it was starting to get very dark… maybe it was the weather.

"It's half past two." Elena said.

Reno shook his head. "We're stuck now… we gotta stay here, at least until the storm dies down."

"We could be here a while then." Elena sighed, leaning back in her chair.

"Wake me up when it's over… or if we're about to die." Reno pulled his legs up, hugging them with his long arms, and put his head on his knees.

Elena didn't object. She didn't see the point anyway, he was probably already asleep. She didn't know how, but Reno seemed able to fall asleep in the matter of seconds, unless he was just pretending…

* * *

Elena awoke with a start. She hadn't been really asleep, but sort of dozing. Reno was still in the exact same position he had been before Elena dozed off, and she vaguely wondered how he was comfortable sitting like that.

There was something different, but Elena wasn't quite sure what it was… then she realized as she sat watching the sleeping redhead; it was silent. The rain had stopped.

"Reno!" Elena said, diving at the redhead and shaking him awake. "Wake up."

"Huh…" Reno muttered vaguely. He put his head up and rubbed his eye with his slender wrist.

"The rain's stopped." Elena told him ecstatically. "Can we go now?"

"Gimme a minute…" Reno slurred. Elena was about to argue, but decided letting a drowsy Reno pilot a helicopter was probably not a good idea. "Pass me that bag." The redhead said looking as though he'd had a good idea. Elena did as she was told and passed him the green duffel bag. He unzipped it and pulled out some pale green materia that Elena recognized as cure. Clutching it his left hand, he muttered something under his breath and the whole of his body momentarily glowed green.

"Why'd you do that?" Elena asked curiously.

"We need to get a move on." Reno said hastily.

"Fair enough…" Elena watched confusedly as Reno fiddled with some switches on the dash, an action that Elena had become used to already. After a few minutes, nothing happened…

"Shit…" Reno said, leaning back into his chair again.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked him.

"This chopper is crap, that's what's wrong." Reno said angrily. He made one last violent attempt to start it again, but no result.

"So now what?" Elena said in a fed-up tone of voice.

"Well, if we wanna get anywhere, we're gonna have to walk…" Reno said. He had his eyes closed, as though willing their situation not to be true.

"We're miles away from anywhere… in fact, where are we?" Elena's eyebrows knitted together as she looked at the redhead.

"I don't friggin' know." Reno said irritably.

"I thought you were supposed to have a good sense of direction?" Elena said, crossing her arms.

"It is good." Reno told her. "…when it chooses to be."

"How reassuring…" Elena said sarcastically. "Come on."

The two Turks clumsily jumped out of the helicopter, Elena with the green bag on her shoulders. Reno landed on all fours, before getting on his feet and stretching, causing his joints to crack. For some reason, Elena was reminded disturbingly of a cat for a split second.

Elena looked around them; their surroundings were less than paradise. She had absolutely no idea where they were, but it was shockingly cold, and all Elena could see was clear, flat ground. Probably about a mile away, there was a large, dense looking forest. Then a thought suddenly struck her.

"Reno?"

"Hm?" The redhead turned to face her. He still looked alarmingly drowsy.

"How can you not know where we are?" She asked. "You were taking us to the Forgotten City, weren't you?"

"Umm…" Reno looked at his feet nervously. "We kinda had a … detour."

"A detour, why?" Elena asked. She was trying to keep her temper with him, but she felt he eye twitch uncontrollably.

"The intereference…" Reno told her awkwardly. "We were havin' it ages before we ran into the storm. I figured I could go around it, but now we've been thrown off track."

"Great." Elena said angrily. She breathed out shakily, knowing she didn't have the right to be mad at Reno. He had tried his best to keep them safe after all. "So…" she carried on, trying to keep her anger out of her voice. "You have no clue whatsoever as to which direction we have to go in?"

Elena frowned at the familiar smirk that formed on Reno's face. "I didn't say that, did I?" He said cockily. He pointed in the direction of the forest. "That way."

"How do you know?" Elena demanded.

"I just figured out where we are. So I ain't completely useless." Reno smirked and looked over at the forest. "That's The Sleeping Forest."

"Bone Village?"

"You got it." Reno winked. "So we just gotta get over there, then we can rest and stuff… then I guess I'll work out what to do from there."

"Okay…" Elena sighed. "But you know, you should have spoken to me, and I would have told you to land the chopper before you-"

"Laney?" Reno interrupted, a slightly disbelieving look on his face. "Shut up. We're alive aren't we? And it'll only take a little while to walk up there."

"Suppose…" Elena shifted the weight of the bag on her shoulder.

"Right… so let's go…"


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: **I FINALLY finished this. I've been working on it for so long lol. I think I've been updating so slowly lately, so I tried to get this done as quickly as possibly.

I'm assuming by the way, that since the whole of Bone Village is surrounded by forest, that it's all called the Sleeping Forest

Enjoy **

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**Chapter Four**

"Come on Reno… it's your turn."

Elena had been moaning in Reno's ear for some time now, but the red-head seemed intent to block Elena out. Although the green duffel bag on her back wasn't heavy, it was awkward to carry, and since some of the stuff in it was Reno's, she figured he should carry it for a while.

"Reno-?"

"Seriously 'Laney." Reno said suddenly. Elena wasn't sure if he was angry or not, so she shut her mouth just to be safe. "You don't want me to carry it."  
"Why?" Elena said, raising her eyebrow.

"Just trust me." He said. He tapped the side of his head and smirked.

"Right…" Elena said sceptically. She didn't bother questioning Reno's logic, as she knew he would just confuse her even further, probably leading to him making her look dumb.

The good thing was that after about an hour of walking, the forest ahead was starting to look closer. So much so Elena could just about see the village for which they were headed. It was a relief really, but she was still bothered about the storms. Just because they weren't in the helicopter didn't mean the storm couldn't affect them, and by the time they got to the Forgotten City their situation would be much worse, with the unusual electrical interferences that were usually around that area.

"Ya know, I would have thought this forest was a lot closer than this." Reno said, looking distinctly distressed. Elena knew that Reno hated walking, unless he was in the mood for it, and it seemed like this wasn't one of those times.

"Won't be too long now." Elena said. Looking at her watch she was that it was already half past four. Given their location, it wouldn't be long until it was dark, and if there was one thing Elena hated, it was walking in the dark.

* * *

It seemed like hours, but in fact, it was only 25 minutes later when Reno and Elena reached the edge of the forest. Elena could practically feel the pressure in the air from the storms ahead, and she didn't like it one bit. Reno however seemed completely unshaken by it, and leaned heavily on a tree on the outskirts of the forest.

"Can you remember how far Bone Village is into this forest?" Elena asked him. She stood as upright as ever, despite being just as tired as Reno.

"Meh, 'bout 5 minutes, that's all."

"Oh, good." Elena sighed. All she needed was to sit down with a cup of hot coffee. The pressure in the air was starting to get her down, and she knew it wouldn't be long before it affected Reno too.

"What are you doing?" Elena asked. The redhead was still leaning against the tree and was looking up into the sky, muttering to himself.

"Thinking." Reno said without looking at her. "Stake-out… I hate stake-out missions."

"You decide this now?" Elena said desperately. "I think it's a bit late. Now can we _please _go before I witness you turning completely insane?"

Reno stopped muttering to himself and nodded his head vaguely in Elena's direction. Smiling, he entered the forest, with Elena at his heels.

* * *

"Man, I hate this forest." Reno said yawning.

Elena merely smiled. She, unlike Reno, loved this forest. She walked in silence, hearing the bracken crunch under her feet. The light shone down in misty rays through the dense branches, creating a calm aura around the place. The blonde breathed in deeply; living in Midgar, she didn't often get this much fresh air.

She could see why Reno didn't like it though. The forest that surrounded Bone Village was appropriately named. For some reason, it was making Elena feel sleepy, which she knew would be nothing compared to how Reno felt, taking into account his need for an unnatural amount of sleep. Elena knew he was already less than pleased with being woken up so early that morning.

It didn't take them long before they reached the village. Elena loved it there as well; she remembered going there once before. It was a small, sleepy village, without many people. Just a hotel, a few houses, and a small mining organization.

"Stupid village, with no freakin' bars." Reno muttered in an irritated voice. "When was the last time you came here 'Laney?"

"Umm… on my first mission. With Tseng." Elena said, confirming the day in her head. She had been so nervous, but nothing had gone wrong that day.

"Riiight…" the red-head said raising an eye-brow. "So you should remember it a little better than me. Lead the way, _sir._" He mock saluted her.

"Why do I get the feeling your life goal is to annoy me?" Elena asked him. Reno merely smirked as Elena walked past him in the direction of the hotel.

"Can we get two rooms please?" Elena asked the man at the counter. He smiled at her with his welcoming dark brown eyes.

"Make that one." Reno said from behind. Elena turned around expecting to see a smirk on his face, but on the contrary, he had quite a serious expression on his face.

"Sure?" The man behind the counter asked, looking very amused.

"You never know when we'll need that extra gil." Reno said, his normal, cocky smile coming back. "So how much is that?"

"One hundred gil." The man answered swiftly.

"'Kay." Reno handed over the gil, but raised an eyebrow at the same time.

"Room 106." The man said handing over a key.

* * *

"Home, sweet home." Reno muttered sarcastically, putting the key in his pocket.

The room was fairly small, with an ensuite bathroom. It was decorated plainly, but homely, with cream colored walls and a dark blue carpet. The main thing that bothered Elena though was the bed. It was a double bed, but it was the only place that could be used for sleep.

"Nice room, huh?" Reno said cockily.

"Shut it, Reno." Elena said, furrowing her brow. She walked further into the room and sat on the bed. Sighing, she kicked off her shoes and sat cross-legged on the side of the bed.

"S'up 'Laney?" Reno said, sitting heavily next to her. Elena had the strong suspicion that Reno had sat as heavily as he could, just in a attempt to make her lose her balance and fall of the bed.

"Very funny." Elena said in a mocking tone. "So anyway, what's the plan now."

"Now…" Reno said, kicking off his own shoes. "I'm hittin' the sack."

"At 5 past 5?" Elena said, looking at her watch.

"Yeah, and once I wake up, we're making tracks." Reno said, laying down on the bed and closing his eyes.

"But it'll be dark." Elena protested.

Just as she expected, she got no reply. She silently cursed Reno, but wondered vaguely why she hadn't just done the obvious thing and smacked him upside the head; at least that way he couldn't pretend to be asleep. For some reason though, as she looked over at him, even though his eyes were closed, she could feel her irritation melting away. She had always found it so shocking how he could look so different when he was asleep, or pretending to be. It was like a completely different person she was staring at.

"I know I'm good-looking, but you don't have to stare it me like that." Reno said suddenly, causing Elena to jump.

"How-?" the blonde stuttered. He still had his eyes closed and the only movement he'd made was the smirk that had formed on his face.

"Turks intuition." Reno said, tapping his head. "Now, shut up and go to sleep. Trust me, you'll need it."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: **woo, I managed to finished this by the end of the weekend like I promised someone earlier this week. This was done in two halves, you may be able to tell. I did half of it at my friends house.

Enjoy, and please review

* * *

**Chapter Five**

Elena awoke with a start, swatting Reno's hand away. She hadn't been keen on the idea of sharing a bed with Reno, so she had settled on the very edge of the bed, keeping all her clothes on, and not getting under the covers. Elena wasn't sure whether he had been doing it on purpose of not, but Reno had managed to punch her in the face three times, and push her off the bed twice.

After being almost punched for the fourth time, Elena was happy to see as she looked at the clock that Reno had been asleep for four hours. That meant one thing; time to wake up. Reno had said they were setting off as soon as he woke up, but there was no way Elena was setting off any later than 8 at night.

Sighing, Elena slipped off the bed and prepared to get extremely annoyed in the next 10 minutes. She knew Reno wouldn't be easy to wake up.

"Reno?" she said loudly. Of course, no response.

Sighing again, she walked over to the duffel bag on the floor, and began searching around for something. She grinned as she found what she was looking for, and pulled out some pale green materia.

"Bolt." She whispered, looking at Reno and resisting the urge to use a more powerful spell.

Reno screamed impossibly loudly and sat bolt upright. Elena couldn't help but laugh at his hair, which was sticking up even more than usual.

"You fuckin'-" he screamed. He jumped out of the bed, dressed only in his pants, and ran for Elena.

"Reno!" Elena screamed, shielding herself. Suddenly there was a loud bang on the wall.

"Shut the fuck up!" Shouted an angry voice from next door.

"Hmph." Reno said moodily, while Elena giggled. "I thought this place was s'posed to be peaceful…"

"It was till you got here." Elena said amusedly as Reno put his shirt back on. "Are you nearly ready?"

"Yeah," Reno said doing up the last button on his shirt. He still looked exhausted.

"You know, I'm really not happy about this." She said, looking out the window. "It's getting pretty dark. Can't we just go tomorrow?"  
"Shut up…" Reno said grinning. "Once you get over to the Forgotten City, the mako an' shit there makes it really light anyway… 'sides, I got a flashlight." He pulled said flashlight out the bag with an extremely proud expression. "It's better to do it in the dark, you'll be surprised how many tourists there is over there usually."

"I didn't see you put that in there." Elena muttered. "Shall we leave the bag here?"

"Yeah, we got the room all night." Reno said, grabbing some materia out of the bag and shoving it into his pocket. "So I'll just take what we need."

* * *

Outside, it was even darker than Elena had first thought. She could still just see the sun setting in the distance, and there were very few people around.

"Excuse me…" came a voice. Elena sighed, thinking that this was going to be a lot more difficult than she first thought. Reno whirled around, an unfathomable expression on his face.

They were facing a young man, slightly older looking that Reno, with a large build, and small black eyes.

"Yes?" Reno said with cynical politeness.

"You're the Turks aren't you? I've been told not to let you pass."

"Who in the hell told you that?" Reno said. He was slightly shorter than the man, but Elena could tell that Reno had complete control over the situation.

"I cannot reveal that information to you." The man said. Reno furrowed his eyebrows at probably the same thing Elena was concerned about. This man was not speaking out of his own free will; his voice sounded almost robotic.

"Oh yeah?" Reno carried on as though he hadn't noticed anything. He leaned close to Elena. "'Laney, on three, run for it that way." He said pointing in the direction of the Sleeping Forest. Elena nodded as Reno turned back to man.

"Three…" the redhead said loudly. The man narrowed his eyes.

"Two…" he crouched readily.

"One… go."

With incredible agility, Reno lifted his left leg in the air and kicked the man in the face, knocking him to the ground. Elena ran, sensing that Reno was right behind her, until she got just inside the Sleeping Forest.

"Sorry to shake ya up, that guy was trouble…" Reno said, leaning down to catch his breath. Elena nodded her head and looked around.

She felt the blood rushing through her head as she gazed around the empty forest. There was a long and obvious track surrounded by tall, skeletal trees, and the atmosphere was slightly eerie. She could hear a few birds in the trees, the sound of Reno breathing, and her own heart beat. Apart from that, all was silent.

"It's a lot nicer in the day-time, ya know." Reno said suddenly, standing upright again. "I don't think we've been followed."

"Good… get that flash-light."

Reno reached into his pocket and hesitantly pulled out the flash-light. The whole time he stared in the same direction, just behind Elena.

"What?" She asked anxiously, turning around.

"Nothing." Reno said shaking his head.

Elena looked sceptically at him. She didn't like it when he did that; she wasn't sure if it was because he'd been a Turk for so long, or just natural talent, but he had a skill that enabled him to always know when something bad was about to happen. Or when someone was watching them. The confused expression on his face told her that he knew more than he was letting on.

"Let's go… the longer we stand around here, the more you're gonna get creeped out." He said, switching on the flashlight.

* * *

"Can we stop please?" Elena said. As far as she could see on her watch, it was just gone 11 o'clock, and after only having about 3 hours of disturbed sleep, she was getting exhausted.

"No."

"Please?"

"No, quit asking."

They came out in a clearing, the trees thinned and they ended up standing on top of a small cliff.

"We've gone the wrong way, haven't we?" Elena asked, feeling her left eye twitch.

"Yeah… sure, why not…" Reno said, slightly disbelievingly. "Ya know that break ya wanted?"

"Let's just get some rest ok?" she said in the hope that after some sleep she wouldn't be quite as angry at Reno.

* * *

Elena woke up abruptly, not quite sure what had disturbed her. Reno was already awake, and stood a few paces away from her, staring in space as he usually did, but this time, there was a strange glint in his aqua eyes. It was emotion; something rarely witnessed from Reno, but his thin lips had long since curled into a sly smile. Which was covering which?

Elena looked over at the redhead, intrigued. What could he possibly be thinking about? Elena had started noticing little things about the redhead for some time now, and she wasn't sure herself of the emotions that were going through her mind.

Reno had always been an oddball; a rogues rogue. But there was something about his wild and cocky attitude that told Elena to trust him. His character was certainly interesting, and although it is a well-known fact that no two people are identical, there really was nobody quite like Reno. He himself contrasted; nothing about his appearance was subtle. His bright red hair, always messy looking, and his shimmering aqua eyes. Two opposite colors; two opposite impressions. The mess of hair made him look lazy and his eyes gave him that energetic look of a young child. Then there was that smirk. No one else could do it like Reno could, and it was just right for him. Despite his lanky physique, there was something about a cocky smile from Reno that just said 'You fuck with me; you'll wish you'd never been born.'

Maybe that was what it was that made Elena trust him so. Although he was wild, he always knew where to draw the line, and he knew where his friends were. Elena had been lucky enough to make it inside Reno's group of close friends, so she knew he would protect her whenever she needed help.

"What's up 'Laney?" Reno said, finally looking over at Elena.

"I hate the dark." The blonde said suddenly. She shook her head. 'Why did I just say that?'

"Ah, it's alright. Just think... all the things that are lurking that you can't see in the dark, there's a good chance they can't see you either." Reno started to grin.

"Thanks for that." Elena said sarcastically. "I just wanna know when we can get out of here."

"Look." Reno said, finally adopting a slightly more serious tone. "We got about 2 more days of a journey up to the Forgotten City, and then we have to actually do the mission."

"This is such a stupid idea, do you know that?" Elena said crossing her arms. "If Tseng were here, he would have taken us back long before now."

"What?" Reno said, mimicking Elena and crossing his own arms.

"We have no transport whatsoever. So when you be an idiot and get yourself hurt, there's nothing we can do about it." Elena said in a commanding tone.

"Whatever. That's what cure materia is for 'Laney." Reno said mockingly, the grin still on his face.

"Hmph."

Elena didn't know why, but that whole night, she couldn't get rid of the shivers that ran down her spine. She wasn't scared; she had never liked the dark, but she wasn't scared of it. She just couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen. Reno's carefree attitude didn't help either, not that it was any different than usual. But she didn't like having the responsibility of being the only one on their toes, or that's what it seemed like to Elena. Of course, with Reno, she could never quite tell what he was thinking.

"Did you hear that?" Reno asked suddenly. Although his voice wasn't that loud, it seemed to echo through the trees. Both of them had been sitting still and alone for several hours. Although Elena had been willing herself not to fall asleep, she kept finding herself dozing. The blonde looked up sharply at Reno, who looked unshaken, but his bright eyes glinted in the dim moonlight.

"Hear what?" Elena asked. She could hear her blood rushing through her head. The fact that Reno didn't seem bothered made her even more unnerved.

"Nothing." Reno shook his head, adopting a suddenly bemused expression. "Doesn't matter."

"No, Reno." Elena said, starting to get a little scared. "Don't do that."

"I just thought I heard something... I probably fell asleep or something." Reno looked to his right and shook his head again. Turning back to her, Elena could see that he was starting to look a little bit freaked out.

"That?" he said suddenly, even more loudly than the first time. "Did you hear it that time?"

"What?" Elena said, starting to get annoyed. "What is it?"

"You seriously can't hear it?" Reno looked worried. "Like someone whispering..."

"I can't hear it." Elena said desperately. She was unbelievably scared, and she didn't even know why. She had been through near-death experiences with Reno before, so why was this frightening her so much?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: **chapter six!! I'm so happy with the amount of reviews I've got for this. Maybe if I'm lucky I can beat the amount I got on The 'Reno' Diet. D

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter Six**

Elena sat awkwardly, with her legs drawn up to her chest and her head rested on her knees. It was so uncomfortable, but she didn't dare move. What she found strangest was that Reno often sat like this, and seemed to find it perfectly comfortable.

Silence. That was all she heard. Even the birds in the trees and bushes had stopped singing, and everything was dead quiet.

She looked over to the redhead, who was sat completely opposite to Elena. His back was resting on a tree and his head lolled to one side. His slender arms were folded across his stomach and his long legs were crossed at the ankles. Elena wasn't sure if he was asleep or not, as she couldn't see his face. It had been several hours since Reno had spoken of the whispering voices, but Elena's heart was still going at the same pace. Looking around her, and noticing all the open space, she decided she would probably feel much safer if she were to move closer to Reno.

Taking a deep breath, Elena stretched out her legs, feeling the bones crack and her muscles cramp up. She crawled over to Reno on her hands and knees, ignoring the uncomfortable scraping of the bracken on her shins.

"Reno?" she whispered as quietly as she could. Even that sounded too loud. She poked him in the stomach, and received no response. Sighing, she concluded that the only way she would get a response would involve a lot of shouting, so she settling with moving as close to Reno as she could, resting her head on his shoulder. She smiled as the dozing redhead lifted up his left arm, and wrapped it around Elena's shoulder.

It was strange how comfortable she suddenly felt; like nothing in the world could hurt her. The redhead's slim arm around her was like a protective barrier, and for someone so bony, his shoulder was extremely comfortable. The only thing that spoilt this amazing feeling she had, was what she saw when she looked around. Dark, dismal surroundings, and depressing weather. It just reminded her of how scared she had been earlier. Deciding it was best, she closed her eyes; that way she could think of whatever she wanted, and nothing would spoil her peaceful, relaxed mood…

* * *

Elena awoke with a jolt, feeling strangely cold. How could she have fallen asleep? The events of last night were a blur to her; the only thing she really remembered was Reno hushing her. Things looked so much more positive in the daylight, except for one thing…

"Reno?" Elena said shakily. The redhead in she had fallen asleep in the arms of was nowhere to be seen. "Reno?!"

The blonde stood up and stepped forwards, calling Reno's name again.

"Alright, alright…" came an irritated voice from behind a tree. Reno stepped out from his 'hiding place' and glared at Elena.

"What the hell do you think you were doing?" Elena asked angrily.

"Takin' a piss, what were you doin'?" Reno said grinning. "Hope you weren't peekin'…"

A slap on the side of the head was what he got in reward for his snide comment. Elena rolled her eyes as Reno rubbed his head, shooting her his best innocent look.

"You scared me. Don't keep disappearing." Elena said, trying to ignore the look on Reno's face.

"You remember last night?" Reno said in a more serious tone. "I checked it out, but I can't find anything."

"I didn't hear anything anyway." Elena said crossing her arms. "are you sure you weren't just messing with me?"

"Nope, I was bein' deadly serious." Reno said. Elena stared at him directly into the eyes, knowing that even if he was lying, it was unlikely she would be able to tell. "Wanna carry on walkin' now?"

"Yeah…" Elena said distantly. She gazed out into the distance, staring at the beautiful colors the sun was casting in the sky. Oranges, pinks and purples; all so peaceful. It was hard to believe they were even on a serious mission. The nerves that Elena had experienced were gone, except when she thought Reno was gone that morning; but of course, she had a right to be scared then. "What time is it?" she asked suddenly.

"Just about to ask you the same question." Reno said grinning.

"Oh…" Elena looked at her forgotten watch on her wrist. "10 past 4… how could you let me sleep so long?"

"Well…" Reno shrugged. "I figured you must be tired, so I left you." He grinned suddenly. "I must be rubbing off on ya; it's usually me that sleeps late."

"Must have something to do with the fight I had while you were asleep in the hotel room." Elena said sarcastically.

"Whatever." Reno replied. "C'mon, let's get a move on."

Elena sighed and followed Reno away from the clearing and into the deeper parts of the forest. It was annoying when he did that, and he did it all the time. He knew he was wrong so he would completely change the subject in a way that Elena wouldn't notice until it was too late. Wordplay.

* * *

It seemed to be getting dark earlier than the night before, and the colors that Elena had noted in the sky earlier were fast turning into darker grays and blues. Elena looked at her watch again; only 5: 30. How curious that it was darkening so early.

"S'up Laney?" Reno asked her after a long while of silence.  
"Nothing." Elena said. She was of course lying. She hadn't been banking on getting tired so easily, but as she looked over at Reno, he still looked fresh, and didn't look tired as well. The last thing she wanted was to show weakness in front of him. "Hang on…" she said suddenly.

"What?" Reno looked at her innocently, obviously noting the bemusement that just clouded over her eyes.

"Do you actually know where we are?" she asked him.

"Sort of…" Reno said awkwardly.

"Sort of?"

"Well… we got kinda side-tracked with that clearin', 'cause I didn't even know that was there… but I know roughly where we're goin'"

"So how much longer until we get to the Forgotten City?" Elena asked politely.

"Dunno… maybe get there tomorrow? It's only a few hours…" Reno said, trailing off slightly at the end of his sentence.

"So how come yesterday you said it was two days journey?" Elena said, smiling disbelievingly. "You really don't have a clue, do you?"

"Do to." Reno said pouting slightly. "Besides, things always work out in the end for me… this forest ain't that big…"

"Right…" Elena said, deciding to end the conversation. She could have quite easily argued with him for hours, but he being the skilled conversationalist that he was, Elena knew she would never win. Besides, she didn't really want to fall out with Reno, since she knew deep down that she was relying on him to protect her. He was stubborn, and if he didn't want to do something, he wouldn't do it.

* * *

Shivers ran down Elena's spine as the wind picked up around the two Turks. It was basically dark now, and the only light Elena could actually see was if she looked into the distance sky, where the dark blue was occasionally pierced with white when the thunder of a distant storm struck. Even that was getting harder, as the two of them were heading down a path which was getting steadily steeper. Either side of them was a steep, grassy bank, topped with skeletal trees.

Elena turned sharply as she heard Reno singing quietly. She could quite hear the words, but she could tell that he was only doing it to distract himself from their less-than-pleasant surroundings.

"Reno?" Elena said. She desperately wanted to make conversation as she knew she couldn't distract herself so easily.

"Hmm?" the redhead stopped singing and turned sharply to the blonde.

"How much longer have we got to walk?"

"No idea…" Reno said, obviously no longer caring what Elena thought of his currently less-than-perfect sense of direction. "We're headin' north-east, that's all I care about."

"Fair enough…" Elena said, gazing up the bank to her right. Silence followed, which she detested greatly. "Talk please…"

"What about...?"

"Anything… I just…"

Elena stopped dead in her tracks, praying that her eyes had just deceived her. As she looked up the bank at the shadows the trees were casting, she could have sworn for a split second as the sky lit up behind ahead, she saw the silhouette of a figure standing above her.

"Elena!" she heard Reno shout in a way she had never heard before. Desperate; like he truly needed help. Swallowing hard, Elena turned around, dreading what she might see.

But she never did see. As she turned, she felt a tremendous pain in the back of her head, and she screamed along with Reno. She had no idea what was happening, and just as she was about to yell Reno's name, when her vision turned completely black, and she swayed, losing her balance, and began to fall. She didn't feel the floor against her cheek or her hands, only that ever-lasting darkness.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: **I finally got this chapter done. It's been hanging around in my folder for what feels like weeks.

Okay, I have an important thing to say about this, coz when I leave out points like this, I get asked anyway, so here goes... I know that in the game of FFVII, Bone Village leads to Sleeping Forest, then you have to do that stupid snowboarding thing and climb that mountain, but it wouldn't work if I put all that in, so just forget about the snowboarding and the mountain... it's AU, 'kay?

Enjoy

**

* * *

**

Chapter 7

The breeze; it was weak, yet it somehow comforted her. It was all Elena felt as her soft hair was blown onto her face. She felt like she should open her eyes, but something in her mind was telling her to keep them shut. She felt completely numb all over, even thought she knew she was lying on the hard ground, and it should have felt uncomfortable. Inhaling her next deep breath of fresh air, she slowly forced herself to open one eye. After that one crack of bright sunlight entered her vision, everything hit her like a brick. The numbness left her body, and she felt the gritty floor that she was laying on. Both her eyes snapped open and she stared at the floor ahead of her, for some reason not daring to move.

'_Wait a second… why am I on the floor anyway?'_

Then, everything hit her; the shadow on the bank next to her, Reno's scream, and then the passing out…

"Reno?" she said loudly, sitting up sharply. "Reno!"

She looked vaguely around her, but the redhead was nowhere to be seen. Elena felt her heard leap to her throat; she had never been able to turn around to see Reno before she passed out. She remembered his desperate scream; one that was truly sincere – a scream of someone that really needed help. What could have happened to him?

"Reno?" she shouted unsurely again, just to make sure. She got slowly to her feet. Knowing him, he was messing around, and just hiding behind a tree, waiting to scare her. But she searched, albeit slowly, and no sign of the redhead anywhere.

"Oh… no…" Elena muttered. She sat down on the bank, and then looked up at where she had seen the silhouette. There was nothing there, not even any trees in that area, so she must have seen something, as it was impossible for her mind to play tricks on her if there was nothing to mistake as a figure.

Sighing, she decided that the only thing she could do was to keep walking, and to attempt to call Tseng. Of course, being so deep in the forest, her cell signal wouldn't be very good, but it was worth a try.

She pulled out her cell phone from her pocket and began to walk as she dialled Tseng's number. She kicked a stone on the floor as she heard the call immediately clicking off.

"Damn it." Elena said angrily pressing redial only to hear it click off again. She sighed and put the cell back into her pocket. The only way she was going to get out of this mess would be to find Reno and high-tail out of the forest. But the problem was, Reno could be anywhere.

'_Well… the longer I stand wasting time the further away Reno's probably going to be…' _Elena thought to herself. She made the decision in her head; she would find Reno. That way, she could also prove herself as a Turk to Tseng… and to Reno for that matter. She didn't know why, but Reno's opinion mattered more and more to her lately.

Feeling slightly more confident, Elena carried on walking down her path, which was heading further and further down hill. She had to admit to herself, she was worried. Both about Reno, and what would happen to her. How would she find Reno in this forest? She'd never been here before in her life, and she had been counting on Reno to lead the way.

"Where are you…?" she muttered quietly to herself as she walked. All of a sudden, she stopped as she got a shiver down her spine. A unfamiliar voice spoke behind her.

"I wouldn't go that way."

Elena turned around to see a fairly old man standing behind her. He stood fairly tall, but leaning on a cane which he held in his left hand. How she hadn't noticed him before was beyond her.  
"What? Who are you?" Elena said defensively. Just because he was an old man, she wasn't going to take any chances.

"I can't tell you that." The man said. He had very kind blue eyes, and his face was wrinkled. "But please, for your sake, don't go that way."

"Have you seen my friend?" Elena asked him quickly. "He's got red hair…"

"A redhead?" the man's blue eyes lit up and Elena's heart jumped. "No, sorry… I don't often come down to these parts… they don't let me. They seem… preoccupied."

"They?" Elena said, her eyebrows knitting. "Who's 'they'?"

"Ah… I'm sorry, my dear. Perhaps I've said too much." The man said, closing his eyes. "They would never forgive me if I gave away their secrets."

"Wait!" Elena said loudly as the man began to walk away. He ignored her and carried on walking until he was finally out of site.

If there was one thing Elena had learned during her short time with the Turks, it was to always do exactly the opposite of what a completely stranger told you. Or at least, that was what Reno had said to her, and he seemed to always make it out of situations just fine.

Elena carried on down the path she had been following, albeit a little less confidently. All around her seemed to be getting darker the further she walked. She would have said it was the denseness of the trees, but strangely enough, there seemed to be getting less and less of them as she walked. She wasn't sure why, but she was getting a feeling in the back of her mind, like a little voice telling her to get out of there, but she was determined to find Reno.

* * *

A bird crowed somewhere in the forest causing Elena's heart to jump. She hadn't really thought about how frightening a place like this could be when you were alone. She stepped cautiously forwards into an open clearing. The trees surrounding the disturbingly empty plain made the whole situation even more eerie, and just ahead of her, she could see a large lake.

"What are you doing here?" came an angry sounding voice from somewhere nearby. Elena turned to see a woman standing to her right, and she did not look happy.

As Elena stared, several more equally angry looking women stepped out from various hiding places. They all stood tall; taller than Elena, and well built, with pale, almost silvery skin and black hair. Elena could tell from the gaze from deep red irises that they were not human.

All of them were scantily clad, with beautiful decorations on their skin in some sort of black ink. Whether they were permanent or not, Elena could not tell, but it was obvious to her that the first woman was of utmost importance, since she was the most decorated of them all. What first struck Elena though were the markings on the leader woman's face; two crescent-shaped ones under her eyes; exactly the same as Reno's except they were black.

"Who are you?" Elena asked, turning to face them directly. She didn't know that anyone lived in the Sleeping Forest, or the Forgotten City, as she was more likely in now.

"That…" the leader woman said in a slightly snobbish voice. "… is none of your concern. Now I suggest you leave."

"And what if I don't?" Elena asked daringly. Her burning desire to find Reno was giving her confidence.

"Well then…" The woman smirked and turned to her companions. "Kill her."

Elena knew she would be over-powered as she backed automatically away from the advancing tribe. She didn't want to go out without a fight though, so she launched a punched at the nearest one, only to be instantly blocked. Then a kick lead to the same thing.

"NO!" She screamed and the grabbed her. "Reno! Where are you?!"

"WAIT!" The leader woman shouted. "Don't kill her… not yet. She could be of… some use after all."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: **WOOT! Just had the first half of my art exam today, so i got a little bit of spare time on my hands. this chapter was so automatic for me lol.

Enjoy

**Chapter 8**

"You stay put. We'll come back for you later." The tattooed woman said viciously. She and her accomplices left Elena alone in the dingy prison cell. It was dark, dismal, and made Elena wonder even more what the hell had just happened.

"Hello." said a timid voice behind her. Elena jumped and turned to see a small girl sitting on the dirty floor.

"Who are you?" Elena said, relieved that it was only a child. There was something that bugged her a little though, but she moved closer to the small girl to listen more comfortably to her.

"My name's Kayla." She said with a suspiciously happy smile on her face. Then Elena realized what it was about her that she was bothered about. Her skin was pale, almost pure white, and her hair was dark, with a bluish shine, and her eyes were a dull red.

"You're one of them, aren't you? What are you doing in here?" Elena asked her.

"They threw me in here because I'm not pure." She replied simply. "My father was a human."

"What… what are you people?"

"I shouldn't really tell you." Kayla said, almost mockingly.

"Please… just tell me; have you seen my friend? He had red hair…"

"Oh… listen to me; just promise not to tell, 'kay?"

"Oh… okay." Elena said, even more suspicious now. Why had the girl agreed to help her as soon as she had mentioned Reno?

"_Her _name is Rei." The girl practically spat. "The whole tribe is called _Shiso._"  
"Shiso?"

"They are a group of disgusting, near-human beings who seem to be under the delusion that the only purpose in life is to resurrect the rest of the woman who were killed from their tribe… and who wants to know?" another voice said quickly. Elena looked sharply to her left to see a tall young man. Elena couldn't help but notice that he was very attractive, however he didn't look very happy. He too had the dark hair and pale skin of a Shiso, but his eyes were a bright blue, almost like Mako eyes.

"I… I can't tell you who I am." Elena said nervously. She knew this man could hurt her if he wanted to, and she had the feeling he did.

"So they got you too? Well, the bitches will get what they deserve, you just wait and see." The man said triumphantly, sitting down next to the little girl.

"Daddy, you know we're stuck in here…" Kayla said to the man.

"You… you're her father?" Elena stammered. "So you both got punished…"

"That's right. I'm a pure human, I had no idea my wife was one of these Shiso. She was beautiful, and she was a great woman, that's all I cared about."

"What happened to her?" Elena asked.

"She was killed." The man said simply. "By the same woman that just threw you in here. She seemed to think that throwing me and Kayla into this cell was a more appropriate punishment."

"Oh…"

"Now, if you were to tell me who you are young lady, I might be able to help you."

"Elena, my name is Elena." Elena said nervously. She wasn't sure how much she could safely tell these people.

"Hmm…" The man stared at her with scrutiny. "Shin-Ra? I'm guessing Turk from the uniform."  
"Uh… erm… yeah." Elena said, giving up. She had never been any good at lying.

"Ah, I see. So what were you doing here?"

"We… me and my friend were doing some surveillance here. We've had things stolen from us."

"Oh. Where's your friend?"

"I don't know." Elena said, "That's why I'm here. I need to find him, then get out of here."

"Well, that's not gonna happen any time soon. If Rei doesn't want someone to leave, they won't get away. Why do you think we're still here?"

Elena didn't reply, just sat examining her surroundings. She could see that there was no way out, even though there was a window above them, it was too high, and the metal bars were tightly fixed across it.

"Psst… 'Laney." a hushed whisper from the prison door caught her attention. "I'm pushing the key under the door."

"Reno?" Elena said, a little too loudly. The key slid quickly under the door.

"I can't stay 'Laney, they're after…"

"Ah, there you are." a familiar voice said. Elena heard Reno stutter, then that was followed by a sickening crack, then silence.

"Reno…" Elena muttered. Her heart was beating too fast, and she felt sick. The key was cold under her fingers, and she hadn't dared open the door yet just in case there was someone keeping guard.

"I'm going." Elena said, deciding the longer she left it, ultimately it was going to be more obvious that the key was missing. "Do you want to leave as well?"

"Of course we do." The man said as Elena clicked the key in the lock. The man stood up and held his hand out. "Give me the key; I'll put it back where it was to give you some time… I've spent a long time in this place, I know things." He added, noting Elena's odd glance.

"Well, I guess this is goodbye." Elena said.

"Tell your friend we said thanks." The man replied, accepting the key. Elena nodded and exited the cell.

* * *

It was extraordinary dark outside, and Elena didn't like it one bit. Everything was silent and there seemed to be no one around. She couldn't help but think of that man; she was a little suspicious of him, since he was so willing to do something so dangerous. Elena cast the thought to the back of her mind, and set her goal to finding Reno. She looked around at her surroundings. It was basically a primitive village, with loads of small huts built close together. There were a few more structured buildings, like the one she had just exited.

There was just one thing; where would they have taken Reno? It seemed odd that he had been allowed to roam free while Elena was locked away, but knowing Reno, he had escaped from a prison cell just as secure as hers. But how had he found the key?

Elena shook her head, deciding she could ask Reno all this when she found him.

"That's the last of them."

Elena turned to see the tattooed woman again, with a sly smirk on her face. Several women were keeping Kayla and her father from escaping, three of them were struggling with the man.

"Take them back." the woman named Rei ordered the others. She turned back to Elena and smiled. "Since you seem so keen to be with your friend, I'll be nice."

Elena stared into her red eyes, for some reason not liking what she heard. Maybe it was the expression on her face, or the tone of her voice, or maybe just the fact that she was sick enough to lock away a man and his daughter for being human, but Elena didn't trust that this woman could be 'nice'.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: **This is the longest chapter I've done in a while and I spent a bit of time on it, so I hope the hard work payed off. (The end of this chapter has blatant sexual stuff, so sorry if that offends anyone or anything)

Enjoy

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Chapter 9

She felt terrified, but she was fairly safe as far as she could tell. Elena looked up, not yet daring the move her head from the floor. She had been thrown into a cell similar to the one she had been in with Kayla and her father, except it was much smaller and made the dreadful feeling deep in Elena's gut magnified several times over. She sat up slowly, propping her body up with one hand, and brushing the dirt away from her face with the over. She could feel a graze on her cheek where her face had hit the floor, but other than that, she seemed relatively unhurt. She looked up at the small window above her where the moon shone in the sky outside, sending a small sliver of light into her dingy cell, without that, Elena was sure she would be in darkness.

As she stared longingly at the sky, Elena's heart leapt to her throat as she heard a pitiful cough behind her. Even though it was only a cough, it sounded very familiar to Elena. Cautiously, she started to crawl in the darkness towards the opposite corner of the cell from where the cough had come from. She only moved a few paces before she stopped; cursing herself silently as she remembered the flashlight she had put in her pocket earlier. She pulled it out and shone it over to the corner where she could see a figure laying still on the floor. It was horribly familiar…

"Reno…?" Elena whispered, hurrying over to the corner. Sure enough the redhead was huddled in the corner, his eyes half closed. "Reno, are you okay?"

Reno didn't reply, he only pulled his jacket around himself further and coughed again. Elena saw a small droplet of blood dribble out of the corner of his mouth. Swallowing hard, she shook his shoulder gently. His eyes opened briefly, but his gaze was vague and unfocused.

"Huh…?" was all he managed to say before his eyes dropped shut again.

Elena leaned back against the wall as close to Reno as she could possibly get. She had no idea what was wrong with him, since other than the trickle of blood from his mouth, she could see no wounds on him whatsoever. Part of her wanted to check him over completely, but for some reason she didn't dare make that move to unbutton his shirt.

* * *

Elena's eyes bolted open. She had dozed off again, despite her best efforts to stay awake. She heard Reno's uneasy breathing below her as she leaned on his chest. She hated being in situations like that; of course the fact that she was locked away by an unknown race of people, but also that because she was sitting in silence, she had gotten to thinking. How was it that such a simple mission could have gone so horribly wrong? Was this mistake bad enough for Tseng to discharge her from the Turks? She knew he wouldn't punish Reno, because he was such a valued member of the team, but Elena was still only a rookie, and such a mistake would not be taken lightly. The only way she could secure her position on the team was to get herself and Reno out of this mess successfully. That way she could prove that she wasn't incompetent, and that it was a genuine mistake…

Elena sat bolt upright, her pulse pounding in her ears. She had dozed off once again, but Reno coughing had made her jump awake. It took her a few minutes to realize however, that it was more than just Reno coughing that had awoken her.

"There you go. I told you I was going to be nice."

Elena looked up at the doorway to see Rei, standing tall and proud, with two other Shiso by her side.

"What have you done to him?" Elena said, anger overtaking her fear.

"Him?" Rei laughed lightly. "Oh nothing more than he deserves."

"Tell me." The blonde demanded confidently.

"Don't you worry." Rei said with a sickeningly sweet smile on her face. "He's perfectly safe."

The Shiso walked over to where Elena and Reno were sitting and ran her finger down the side of Reno's face where his tattoos were. His eyes flitted open and he stared at the woman with an angry look on his face. It was a look that frightened Elena slightly, since she'd only seen it a couple of times before, and somebody usually died a few seconds after he'd shot the glare.

"Come on then." Rei said. The two other Shiso followed Rei into the cell and grabbed hold of Reno, pulling him to his feet by his arms. Reno looked desperately back at Elena as the blonde watched helplessly as they practically dragged the redhead out of cell.

* * *

Time seemed to fly by while Reno was gone, but Elena wasn't sure why. She was unable to fall asleep again because she was so worried about Reno, so she had been sitting in the dark alone and in silence until she heard the door creak open again, and somebody threw Reno inside without saying a word. Elena crawled over to the redhead as the door slammed shut again.

"Shh." Reno said hastily. He lifted his head up and looked around with his eyes flitting back and forth. After a couple of minutes, he sighed loudly and let his head fall back on the ground again.

"Reno?" Elena said unsurely. She saw Reno's eyes close then open again, but he didn't say a word. _'Well, at least he's awake now…' _Elena thought to herself.

Deciding leaving him in the middle of the floor wasn't a very good idea; Elena put one hand under each of his arms and dragged him towards the corner. It was difficult, but at least he wasn't too heavy.

Leaning against the wall, Reno breathed heavily for a couple of minutes before putting his head up and looking at Elena. His eyes weren't properly open, and they were unfocused, but he seemed a lot more together than he had been earlier.

"Thanks." He said breathlessly.

"What happened to you?" Elena asked concernedly.

Reno sighed, closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall. "Don't know."

"What do you mean you don't know?" Elena said exasperatedly. "You must…"

"Did I ever tell you that you talk too much?" Reno said quietly. He may not have sounded stern, but it was enough to tell Elena to drop the topic.

They sat in silence for the next few minutes and the only sound Elena could hear was that of her own heart beating. It was funny; Elena wasn't anywhere near as scared when Reno was with her, even though she knew that he wouldn't be of much use as far as protection went, because he seemed to be struggling to manage to keep his own eyes open.

Elena stared out of the small window again, becoming lost in her own thoughts. She really couldn't think how they were going to get out of this; they had already tried escaping once and they had been caught, so there wasn't much chance of it working if they tried again. But then again, when would the Shiso be happy? What did they actually want with the two Turks? Maybe it was just because they were trespassing on Shiso land, or maybe they had bigger plans. Whatever they were after, they seemed a lot more interested in Reno than they did in her. So were they to die at the hands of Rei or not? Elena didn't much care for the outcome. After all, a lot of Turks died for their cause, and Elena wasn't scared to be another one of them. No, what she hated most was the wait; she just wanted to know what was going to happen.

Elena jumped as there was a loud bang outside. She sat silently, listening and watching the door, but no one came. Sighing, she leaned further towards Reno.

"You're jumpy, aren't ya?" Reno said in a croaky voice.

"I'm scared." Elena admitted.

"C'mon." Reno said. He slowly put his arm up and let it rest around Elena's shoulder. "It's not that bad."

"It is, and you know it." Elena said. She leaned into Reno, leaning on his chest until he drew a shark intake of breath. "You okay?" she asked him as he pulled away a little to try and get comfortable.

"Yeah." He sighed.

"Let me have a look." Elena said. She moved his arm gently by his side and he didn't seem to object so she opened his jacket and began to unbutton his shirt. It was too dark to see properly, but she could just make out several large gashes on his stomach, and the skin around them was darker, as though bruised.

"What did they do to you?" the blonde asked.

"Already said I dunno." Reno replied. "Why, is it bad?"

"Well, you've looked better…"

"So have you sweetheart, trust me." Reno said grinning. It was the first smiled she'd seen on Reno's face in a while, but even that was tainted with the pain showing through his aqua eyes. Elena was shocked, but realized Reno was probably right. After all, she had been days without a shower, or even brushing her hair. It was okay for Reno, since he seemed to be able to get away with having the hygiene of a wild animal, and still no one noticed when he hadn't brushed his hair for 5 or so days.

"Don't look so shocked." Reno said the smile on his face breaking. "We're all in the same boat; I'm not one to judge… having fun there, by the way?"

Elena looked up, blushing. He hadn't realized she had been tracing her finger over the cuts on Reno's stomach. She pulled her hand away quickly.

"I never said to stop." Reno whispered. Elena smiled and carried on, slightly taken aback by the situation. She felt Reno run his fingers through her short blonde hair, and although it pulled slightly when his fingers hit tangles in her hair, it was comforting.

Elena looked up at Reno, his eyes were closed but she was sure he was awake. A slight smirk touched his lips, and his porcelain skin looked dewy in the faint moonlight. As always, his red, crescent shaped tattoos stood out almost beautifully against his skin tone. Elena only just realized, she still didn't know the story behind those tattoos. It wasn't a common place to have a tattoo, and yet Elena had never thought to ask him. It just seemed so natural; she couldn't imagine him without them.

The corner of Reno's mouth twitched slightly as Elena's hand traveled further up his chest. Elena suddenly blushed; half wishing she was a little more impulsive…

Well, maybe she could be… In one swift movement, Elena shifted her body so she was on top of Reno, but the redhead seemed unmoved, his smirk merely widened. It was almost like he had been expecting it. She moved her head towards his, so she could feel his cool breath on her; it was like torture, watching him smile like that. Then, something clicked in Elena's brain, and she made her moved. She pulled Reno in and their lips brushed together. She felt his mouth open slightly and she moved in closer to share a long, passionate kiss with the redhead. Of course, he took it all as it came, and seemed completely unsurprised. Maybe Reno was used to things like that…

Elena had no idea how long they were locked in that embrace, but when she finally pulled away, Reno's eyes opened wider, and he had a strange, demanding look etched into his features. Elena sat up and began tracing her hand over Reno's stomach again, until she this time going as far down as she dared. She clicked open the clasp on his trousers, and Reno silently unbuttoned Elena's shirt…

* * *

It was a comfort thing, of course. Nothing more than that. Elena hadn't expected it, but she had accepted it. Every touch, every kiss, every item of clothing Reno removed; she had accepted everything. She had enjoyed it of course, but as she laid next the spent redhead, she realized just how irresponsible she had been. She had taken advantage of him really, as all she had wanted was a little reassurance. However the more she told herself that was all the reasoning behind letting herself do these things, the less she believed it. Could it be that there were actually feelings behind the sexual mask?

Her mind and body was exhausted, but she would not fall asleep. Reno had dropped off as soon as they had broken apart, and she could hear him snoring gently beside her. Buttoning up her shirt, she sighed and leaned on Reno, her eyes dropping shut again…

…yeah, reassurance. That's all she needed…


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: **Thanks a lot for all the... interesting reviews for the last chapter. This chapter is a little bit shorter than usual, but I needed to get this one out of the way so I can finish Recruitment. Hope you enjoy :)

**

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Chapter 10

Elena had dreamt, she knew that. But what she had dreamt about, she couldn't say. She didn't like it though, and it got her thinking. With her eyes still shut, memories of what had happened before she had dropped off flooded her mind. Then it clicked in her mind that her current situation had changed quite a drastic amount.

The blonde opened her eyes, realizing that she was not where she had been before she fell asleep. Instead of her head resting on the redhead's lean chest, she was on the floor, and looking around, Reno was nowhere to be seen.

Elena sighed, half of her glad that she didn't half to face a confrontation with Reno as soon as she had awoken. She knew that under normal circumstances, she would have never heard the end of her impulsive act the night before. Putting these thoughts to the back of her mind, she set her mind on thinking about where Reno actually was. Could it be that the Shiso had actually taken him again? If so, what could she do? There was a huge chance that whatever the Shiso were up to, it wasn't good on Reno's side, and something had to be done about it, but Elena just wasn't sure what. There was definitely no obvious way out of this prison cell, with its small, barred windows and permanently locked door. The only time the door opened was when Rei felt like taking Reno away. Other than that, they were ignored all day long, no food, no water, nothing. Elena was desperate for something to eat, but luckily she had found a leak in the roof and in the long hours with nothing to do, she had collected a small amount of moderately clean rain water from the roof for her and Reno to keep themselves alive. Neither of them were going to survive much longer without food, and Elena could tell that Reno especially was starting to suffer from lack of nourishment. Elena scanned the area and noticed the green duffel bag that they had brought with them laying on the floor. She couldn't remember it ever being there before, but Elena crawled over and picked it up.

Everything was inside as she had left it, except for one thing; their materia was missing. Elena shook her head, realizing the misfortune of the situation. There was no food in the bag, since it was something Elena had never thought of. However, the main problem was the lack of cure materia. Elena could be guaranteed that when Reno returned he would be hurt, and they had nothing to help him with.

Just as Elena was lost in thought, the lock on the door clicked and it opened slightly. Instead of Reno being returned however, someone pushed a bowl inside, then slammed the door shut.

They were feeding her? Then for some reason, they didn't want her dead. But where was Reno, and was he receiving the same treatment? Elena wasn't even sure what it was, but she picked it up, satisfied that it smelt edible, and drank it gratefully. Despite its slightly rancid taste, Elena felt a lot better on finishing it. Putting the bowl back by the door, Elena sighed. She wondered vaguely when Reno would be back as she scooted back to lean against the wall. Her eyes still felt heavy because of lack of decent sleep, but she didn't want to sleep until Reno returned.

There was a loud bang, and Elena opened her eyes. The first thing she noticed was Reno laying on the floor, and also that the bowl by the door was gone. She rushed over to the redhead, her heart pounding. If he was in any fit state, he wouldn't waste time in laying into her about the night before.

"Reno, you okay?" Elena asked, shaking his shoulder. Reno nodded imperceptibly and Elena dragged him backwards to lean against the wall. "What happened?"

"Don't know…" Reno said. Elena could barely recognize his voice. "… don't want to go back."

"Back where?" Elena asked desperately. "With them?"

Reno nodded, breathing heavily. Elena stared at him, her heart pounding. How could they have gotten into a situation like this? She had always relied on Reno to put her right when she strayed away from the correct method of doing things, but it was finally sinking in that now Reno was entirely dependant on her. The pressure was so overwhelming, Elena didn't understand how Reno could have been such a good role-model for her since day one.

"Don't worry." Elena told him reassuringly. "We'll get out of this, I promise."

Reno smiled weakly, unable to say anything in return.

"Reno…" Elena said, suddenly thinking of something. "Have they given you any food?"

"No…" Reno said, his eyes lighting up. "Why?"

"No reason." Elena lied. She didn't want to mention the food to him since he wasn't getting any. She came to an immediate decision that the next time they gave her food, she would save it for Reno. She was safe now, food-wise, but Reno definitely wasn't.

* * *

"Um… Reno?" Elena asked nervously. After an hour or so, she had grown tired of listening to nothing but the redhead's slow, heavy breathing. "Are you _sure _you don't know what's going on?"

"What do ya mean?" Reno asked. Elena was happy to hear his voice was starting to sound a little stronger.

"Where do the Shiso keep taking you?"

"Dunno, they were on 'bout some weird, medieval medicinal crap…" Reno said. "Can't really remember."

"Why do they keep hurting you then?"

"'Cause they're freakin' crazy, 'Laney." The redhead said fanatically. "Who the hell's stupid idea was it to come here anyway?"

"Uh… that would be Tseng." Elena said. "I tried getting in contact with him after you went missing the first time, but I can't get through."

Reno nodded and bit his lip, with a strange expression in his face that Elena didn't see very often. He was thinking something through very hard.

"Where is it?" he asked finally.

"What?"

"The cell phone; gimme it." The redhead held his hand out and Elena dropped her cell-phone into it. Elena watched silently as Reno pulled the back off, and pulled a pocket-knife out of his pocket. He picked around inside until eventually something cracked, and Reno dropped something plastic onto the floor. Smirking, he put the of the cell phone back on and handed it back to Elena.

"What the hell did you just take out?" Elena asked exasperatedly.

"They're company cell phones." Reno explained, his voice sounding much stronger, but still hoarse. "They got that little insulator thing in so they don't react to static electricity an' sparks an' stuff. Bein' in an electric company, that helps a little ya know… anyway, they cut out when ya get in contact with static. That's why the bastards never work when ya inside reactors or whatever."

"So you took the insulator out?" Elena double-checked. "I don't think you should have…"

"It's alright." Reno reassured her.

"If they were alright without them, they wouldn't be in there in the first place." Elena argued.

"Well, there's a _small _chance of static shock." The redhead said awkwardly.

"How much is a small chance?" Elena asked.

"Uh… 20 percent chance you won't…" Reno replied. He already had his hand held out, knowing that Elena would force him to make the call instead of her. Smiling, Elena handed it to him, and watched as he dialed Tseng's number.


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: **Sorry this is such a stupidly short chapter, I know I'm giving you a lot of these lately, but I'm just trying to catch up.

Enjoy

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Looking very nervous, Reno put the phone to his ear. His expression looked hesitant, but Elena could tell he hadn't been shocked… yet.

"Hey boss-man." Reno said finally. Elena's heart leapt; it had worked. "How ya doin'?"

Elena glared at the redhead, telling him without using words that their time was short.

"'Kay, let's cut the crap and get down to tacts here…" the redhead said, adopting a mockingly serious tone. "We need to get the hell outta here dot-head, so you better come get us…"

There was a long pause, and Elena was starting to worry that the cell-phone could cut out at any moment, but Reno seemed able to keep the conversation going.

"Seriously…" Reno sighed. "We're in deep crap here, and we got no way out… okay…" Reno hung up the cell phone, looking a little disappointed. "Apparently they're in deep crap of their own… so we're on our own here 'Laney."

"What!?" Elena almost shouted. "But… what's going on?"

"I dunno… I wasn't really listenin'… somethin' about treachery." Reno said vaguely "But look on the bright side 'Laney… we're alive."

"Only just in your case…" Elena said, giving the redhead a dirty look.

"Look, at least Tseng knows we're in trouble, so he'll send someone out to look for us as soon as he can." Reno told her in an attempt to cheer her up.

Elena stared at Reno, and couldn't help but smile. He really was an extraordinary person. She knew for a fact that his life had not been easy, even though she knew very little about his past. Yet unlike many people of his upbringing, he always managed to be the optimistic one when others around his needed it most.

"Yeah… we'll get out." Elena said quietly. She figured this was her job, so she still had to get on with it, no matter what the situation.

"That's the spirit 'Laney…" Reno suddenly grinned. "Now, 'bout last night…"

"Oh… no Reno." Elena said, feeling her face flushing. "Don't start."

"What?" the redhead put on his best innocent face. "I wasn't gonna start anythin'… you're the one who started it…"

"No I didn't." Elena argued.

"I was talkin' about last night." Reno said, grinning evilly. The expression on Elena's face must have been amusing, since he burst into fits of laughter, ending in a coughing fit. After about 5 minutes, Elena managed to get the redhead to calm down.

"Are you alright?" she asked him. Reno nodded vaguely, every now and then letting out a small cough.

"We have to get outta here." The redhead said eventually. "I don't like what they are plannin' to do."

"… Reno…" Elena said slowly. "You told me you didn't know what they were doing…"

"I guess I remember now…" Reno said, shrugging his shoulders.

"So what is going to happen then?" the blonde asked. Reno looked at her awkwardly, as though he wanted nothing more than to get out of answering the question.

"I'm not tellin' you." Reno said stubbornly. He put on a fake pout and turned his head slightly to the left.

"Reno." Elena said warningly. She didn't like the sound of this. Reno didn't usually waste time in telling people things he knew, so she knew it must be bad. All she wanted was for him to tell her, so they could try to think of a plan to get out of the situation. Maybe if she actually knew what was going to happen, they would stand more of a chance of avoiding it.

"Please 'Lena…" Reno said pleadingly. "You'll freak out."

"Reno." Elena repeated, letting Reno know she was serious.

Reno paused for a moment, as though running his options through his head. As Elena saw it, he only had two choices; tell her, or not. She would have preferred it if he only had one choice, but she could never be that intimidating towards Reno.

"Laney…" he said finally. His eyes were darting all over the room, which made Elena feel even more nervous. "I'm gonna die…"


	12. Notice to Readers

Hey, everyone

**Hey, everyone!**

**I'm posting this message on all of my stories, even though I was hoping to update something before this Saturday. Unfortunately I haven't had time. **

**I won't be updating anything for at least another week, because I'm going on vacation on Saturday August 2****nd**** Then it's my birthday on August 12****th**** yay so things are gonna be a bit hectic for a while. Just bare with me, and don't disappear, please!! Last year it took me a while to get my reviewers back, so this is why I'm telling you now.**

**I get back on August 9****th****, and I'll update **_**something **_**as soon as I can.**

**Thanks so much for all your reviews and your patience, guys.**

**Love from,**

**reno-xxxXXXxxx**


	13. Chapter 12

**A/N: **Here ya go, an extra nice 1000 word chapter to make up for my lack of updating. I got back from vacation a day early so I decided to update. Enjoy and PLEASE review.

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**Chapter 12**

Elena didn't know what to say, that really had been the last thing she'd expected to hear. Why had Reno wasted so much time in telling her such a serious thing? Maybe he wasn't being serious… or exaggerating… Elena was trying to convince herself of anything that meant Reno would pull through.

"A-are you serious?" The blond finally stuttered.

Reno sighed and shook his head dejectedly. "That's what they want."

"H-how do y-you know?" Elena asked.

"They told me… I don't know why…" Reno told her. What amazed Elena most was how he seemed perfectly calm about it.

"Reno… I won't let you die…" Elena said. It was a hopeless promise that meant nothing. She knew herself how much trouble they were in, and even if the Shiso didn't kill Reno, he would surely die of starvation or dehydration. "By the way… here."

She slid a small bowl-shaped object over to Reno, who took it gratefully. During one of Elena's lonely periods when Rei took Reno, she had hollowed out a soft rock in which she hoped to collect water in from a leak in the roof. It had worked to an effect, except she hadn't been able to collect very much at one time. Reno drained the water quickly.

"Thanks." He said. Elena was happy to hear his voice sounded a little clearer after his water. "And… I know you won't."

"Huh?"

"I know you won't let me die." Reno smiled one of those smiles that made Elena shiver knowing how much she was letting him down. It was rare that she saw that smile; it wasn't evil, or sarcastic… it was just a genuine, trusting smile. "I'm countin' on you 'Lena."

Those were the words she had been dreading hearing. She hated knowing that Reno's only chance of survival was resting on her shoulders. She'd never been so responsible for anyone before.

"Reno… you know I'm no good to help you…" Elena muttered. "I'm not a good enough Turk."

"Yes, you are." Reno smiled again and put his hand in the pocket of his trousers and pulled something out. "Here." He pressed the item into her hand.

"Wha-?" Elena opened her hand to see a key. "How?"

"They underestimate me… and so do you." Reno smirked. "I stole it from Rei."

"Well… come on." Elena said, her heart pounding. "Let's get out of here."

"No 'Lena." Reno said commandingly. "Think about it. It would be slow, 'cause let's face it, I'm not in the best state, and we'd be caught."

"So what are you suggesting?" Elena asked, already dreading the answer.

"That's why I'm countin' on you." Reno smiled yet again. "I want you to sneak out, and find out what's goin' on. Then we should be able to figure out the best time to escape."

"You mean… find out what they're planning to do to you?" the blond asked.

"If ya like… we just need to find a weak spot if ya know what I mean." Reno explained. "I know you can do it."

"Yeah… I can." Elena said determinedly. She would not let Reno down. "When should I go?"

"Now."

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'_First thing's first…' _Elena thought to herself as she made sure the cell door was tightly locked; she couldn't make anything look suspicious, and as long as she remembered that, she'd be fine. She found herself in a small but wide passageway, made entirely of bricks. There was no door to the outside, but it was all open to the elements, so there was no problem in finding the way out.

It was dark outside, with a glowing silver moon. It was quite a beautiful sight; partly because that was the first time she'd been out of that cell in quite a few days. She shook her head and tried to ignore her surroundings, and concentrate on what she had to do. Everything looked clear, so she headed forwards, keeping close the wall of the building next to her. Every footstep made her heart leap as she heard the crunching of stones below her, and every now and then, she stopped, just to listen out for anyone following her.

As she got to the end of the wall, she was forced to walk in amongst a mass of trees. She didn't really like it, but at least she could make sure she wasn't seen. She could just make out in the foggy distance a fairly large hut, with the flickering light of fire nearby. Maybe she would get some clue from that…

Every now and then, she was forced to walk further into the trees, to conceal herself more. For some reason, during these brief periods of concealment, all sound seemed to be cut off, and she could hear nothing. However, the closer she got to the large hut, the surer she was that she could hear voices. Her heart sped up, even though she was certain the voices were coming from the hut and she knew she wasn't being followed.

Elena stopped walking completely and examined her position. She was about 10 paces away from the hut, and couldn't quite hear what the voices were saying. The trees she was hiding in went all the way around the back of the hut, so it would be quite easy to hide herself if she wanted to listen to what the Shiso inside were saying. It didn't take her long to make a decision; she had to do everything she possibly could, as she was Reno's only hope.


	14. Chapter 13

**A/N: **Yay, I still got around to updating this one as well. yeah, i've been doin a lot of writin recently.

Enjoy

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Chapter 13

A slight gust of wind extinguished the one of the lamps outside the wooden hut in a puff of grey smoke. Although it made difference to the amount of light that Elena had, it still unnerved her slightly, making her feel even more nervous. As quietly as she could, the blond Turk took a few more steps forwards in hope of being able to hear the Shiso in the hut more clearly. She smiled slightly as she stepped into an almost entirely concealed area, where she couldn't possibly be spotted, but she could hear the previously inaudible voices much clearer.

"…the Turk is much weaker now." A voice Elena recognized as belonging to Rei said. "We must perform the ceremony." Another voice said. "But is it possible he is _too _weak?"

"No." Rei hissed. "We must use the redhead… the other girl is useless."

Elena narrowed her eyes as she continued to listen. She was hoping that one of them would actually mention what they were going to do to Reno. So far all she'd heard was about performing a 'ceremony' which was slightly worrying in itself.

"Are you sure?" the second voice said.

"Of course I'm sure." Rei said angrily. "We have to get on with it before the redhead actually dies on his own. I thought he'd last longer than that."

"When shall we do it, ma'am?" a completely different voice said.

"Tonight. Go and fetch him." Rei said determinedly. "And bring the girl as well."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Bring them to the lake. I'll take it from there."

There was the sound of people leaving the hut and Elena's heart began to race. She hadn't found out what they were going to do, and whatever it was, they were doing it now. She watched three women make their way over to Reno's prison cell with a lump in her throat. She had failed Reno…

Then it clicked. How could she have been so stupid? She had bigger things to worry about. Three Shiso were on their way over to the cell at that very moment, and Elena wasn't there. They were bound to look for her, and that would mean more trouble. The blond thought hard; what would Reno do?

"It's time I started acting like the Turk I am…" Elena muttered to herself, running her finger over the gun she'd had in her pocket the whole time. That gun had tempted her many times during her and Reno's imprisonment, but she had come to conclusion that killing one of the Shiso wouldn't get her anywhere; it would just mean more trouble for them. She had to wait for the opportune moment, and she thought she'd found it.

Taking her gun out of her pocket and crouching low to the ground, Elena made her way around the back of the hut, taking care not to be seen by the remaining Shiso in the hut. She could see as she got to the back of the building that the edge of the lake wasn't too far away. It was quite a beautiful site; the tall, white trees surrounding the crystal depths, and the large, mysterious looking rock in the middle of the scene. It would have been quite breath-taking in different circumstances. Elena quickly took everything in, noting the fire directly ahead. She figured that must have something to with the whole thing, so she had to stick as close to that area as possible. Daring to come out of her hiding corner a little further, Elena carried on scanning the scene. The only place she could hide was a group of trees about 20 feet to the left of the fire. She probably couldn't keep herself very well concealed but she didn't really have much choice. She couldn't really do much when she was as far away as she was. Checking around to make sure that no one could catch her, she crept forwards, staying as alert as her senses would allow her. She couldn't screw this up.

When Elena finally reached the trees, she found that they were a lot denser than she had first thought, which was an advantage for her. She crouched down as low as she could get, and then looked around her again. She could see the three Shiso she had spotted earlier, with one of them carrying a smaller figure, most probably Reno. Elena could also see another figure, this one closer by, coming from the hut. The blond Turk assumed this was Rei and smiled. Maybe she could actually get somewhere with this plan.

"Where's the girl!" Elena heard Rei shout as the two groups met up.

"I don't know ma'am… she was missing from the cell." The woman carrying Reno said as they walked closer to the fire. Rei growled softly in her throat.

"She's somewhere…" she said, looking around the area. "You!" she pointed at one of the other Shiso. "Find her."

The woman grudgingly left the group in what Elena was pleased to see was the complete opposite direction. Things were going well, but she couldn't let her guard down now – focus was crucial.

"Well?" Rei said smugly, looking at Reno. "You haven't even asked why we need you…"

"Can't imagine why it would matter, but go on, enlighten me…" Reno said. Elena was glad to here there was still a little superiority in the redhead's voice.

"You are going to help us revive the most important person on the planet…" The Shiso leader continued. "Our original leader… Irikushia. By giving your life, she shall return and continue her mission of ridding this planet of scum."

"Scum, huh?" Reno said. Elena couldn't see clearly enough, but she knew Reno had a smirk on his face. "Who's this Irikushia then?"

"A descendant of the great Jenova… maybe you're familiar with that?"

Everything seemed to stop dead. Even sounds from the water rippling around them seemed to fall silent. Elena's jaw dropped; a descent from Jenova? That only meant one thing to Elena, but apparently it meant something different to Reno.

"You're all Ancients? Cetra?" Reno asked in a shocked voice.

"That's right." Rei said smugly. "Aren't you happy? By sacrificing your life, you're helping a dying race."

"Whatever…" the redhead said. "I was never one for helping people who force me too."

"Well, it's too bad you don't have a choice." Rei practically spat. "Because we still need a leader."

"Well…" Reno sighed as the Shiso finally put him on the floor. "All this argument about leadership… someone's bound to get killed, I mean apart from me."

Suddenly, there was a loud bang, and one of Shiso fell to the floor. It took Elena a moment to realize it was Rei. Slightly puzzled, she lowered the gun that had been in her own hands, and looked around.

"Whoops…" Reno said sarcastically. Elena saw he had a gun in his hand. "Don't say I didn't warn ya though."


	15. Chapter 14

**A/N: **I didn't really like this chapter, but I went through it and did a few improvements and I don't think it's _too _bad now. Let me know what ya think. It took me long enough, but for some reason it doesn't seem finished to me. Talking of finishing, this fic will finish soon, but there's still a few more chapters, so don't panic lol.

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Chapter 14

"There may be one of me, and three of you-" Reno said loudly. "-but if any of ya _touch _me, you'll all bite the dust."

Reno stood up, albeit slowly, and held the gun up to the other three women. Elena noticed that he had a slight wobble in his step as he walked over to Elena's hiding place and parted the bushes. The blond wasn't even going to begin to wonder how Reno knew she was hiding there, and put it down to pure Turk instinct as she stepped out into the open. Elena saw the other three Shiso more clearly, and noted the confused and terrified expressions on their faces. Two of them were staring at their now dead leader, and the other one was looking right at the Turks, with an unreadable expression on her face. Slowly, she reached towards her pocket…

"Reno!" Elena screamed. The redhead turned back around the women and cocked his head slightly to the left. The woman, who had momentarily been reaching to her pocket, was now holding a gun in her hand, and aiming it shakily at Reno. The redhead smirked and tightened his grip on his own gun, while narrowing his eyes as if aiming. Slowly he clicked the safety catch off.

It was almost like a battle of will. For some reason, Reno seemed extremely reluctant to shoot, but from the expression on his face, he knew exactly what he was doing.

However, there was something odd about the way the redhead was holding the gun. His grip was too tight, and his hand was slightly shaky. His wrist was a lot scrawnier than Elena had remembered it being, and she wasn't actually sure that it could take something as swift and powerful as gunfire. The tendon tensed up as Reno put a little pressure on the gun trigger as though preparing for the worst. Elena trusted Reno's reflexes and knew he would beat the Shiso if he wanted to, but she became more concerned when he sighed slightly and lowered his weapon.

"Reno, what are you-?" Elena began. Reno silenced her instantly by raising a finger to his lips. Slowly, he made his way back over to the three women, all of whom were slightly taken aback by Reno change of plan. Elena followed hesitantly.

"Listen…" Reno said quietly to the Shiso. The angry one had lowered her weapon upon Reno's approach. "We all know ya not gonna shoot me-"

Upon these words, the gun was raised again. Reno looked a little bit shocked, but he stood his ground. "Shut up!" The woman said forcefully.

"Fine…" Reno raised his hands in confirmation that he wasn't going to get his own weapon back out again. "Whatever way ya wanna play this, but I know ya ain't gonna shoot me. Ya need me, right? Plus, if ya were gonna do it, ya would've already done it by now."

"Will you shut up?" The woman with the gun said. After a moment of just staring, she finally spoke something Reno could argue with. "Irikushia will come back, without you or not."

"You two!" Reno said suddenly. "What d'ya think of all this?"

The remaining two Shiso remained silent, but Elena noticed how they didn't look particularly angry like the other one.

"I see." Reno shook his head.

"You will die." The armed woman said.

Reno sighed and shook his head yet again. Then, with cat-like reflexes like which Elena had never seen before, he drew his gun from his pocket and shot the woman down dead. The whole thing was over in a split second.

"I don't think I'll be the one doin' the dyin'." Reno poked the dead body with his toe gingerly. "Unless anyone else wants some?" he looked at the other two who shook their heads hastily. "Good."

"Reno?" Elena pulled on the redhead's sleeve. Reno turned sharply, with his gun still in his hand making the blond jump slightly. "Can we go now?"

Elena was desperate to leave in case something else went wrong, because knowing their luck, things would quickly turn nasty again if they stuck around. These two Shiso were either too scared of Reno to stand up to him, or they were being completely sincere, either way, it didn't mean the others would follow suite.

"Wait 'Laney." He put his hand out to silence her. "Where are the others?" he asked the two women.

"They're scattered everywhere…" the taller of the two said. "Don't worry about them… just leave while you can."

"Hmph…" Reno frowned and put his gun back into his pocket. "Why don't anyone know 'bout you?"

"Please…" the more talkative Shiso said, bending down and leaning on one knee. "Don't tell the Shinra that we're here."

"Hmm…" Reno pondered on this for a minute, and Elena really did _not _like the look in his eyes. She knew the best thing to do would to tell Tseng about this tribe, since they were descendants of Jenova apparently. "Can do." Reno said, raising his arms in surrender. The woman raised her head and smiled.

"Thank you…" she said sincerely. "You… you killed Rei. Thank you."

"She was one of those, huh?" the redhead sighed and scratched his head. "Well… we'll be goin' then if ya don't mind."

Reno turned to leave, and Elena wasted no time in following him. She was glad to finally be given the chance to return home, but before they could take more than three steps a voice called them again.

"Wait, Turks…" The two of them turned around to see the woman was now holding a very familiar green bag. Elena recognized it as the duffel bag she had brought he things along with her in. "Here…" The Shiso walked over and handed it to Elena, who promptly checked inside. As well as the clothes the blond had packed, there was Reno's materia and a whole load more materia which Elena assumed was the missing destruct materia. The young Turk had to stop herself from laughing slightly at the reward for their suffering. The whole mission had been a little over-the-top, but at least they were now likely to make it out alive.

"Thank you." Reno said sincerely.

"You're… Reno?" she said. Elena had only just noticed that she had a slight accent, and English probably wasn't her native language. Reno nodded his head slightly. "I'm… Mariko." She smiled warmly. "Sorry… for what happened… I hope you didn't get too hurt?"

The Shiso woman looked unsure, but Elena could tell she was sincere when she spoke, and Reno seemed to understand as well. "No problem." The redhead said, grinning weakly. "I've been in worse crap than that."

"Thank you… for being so understanding." The woman apparently named Mariko said slowly. "Please… leave before others come."

"Right…" Reno smiled and the two Turks turned to leave, but this time, Reno was the one to interrupt their exit. He took the gun out of his pocket and looked at it, ignoring the nervous glances he got. "Wait a sec… where's my EMR?" he asked.

Mariko coughed slightly and the other Shiso simply looked terrified by Reno's angry glance. "Where is it?" he repeated.

"Reno, please…" Elena almost begged. "We can get you another EMR… let's just get out of here."

"No!" Reno said angrily. I'm not leavin' without my EMR." It was times like that Elena wasn't sure whether to take the redhead seriously or not, but from the tone of his voice, she figured he was being completely genuine.

"Mr. Reno?" a small voice cried out from somewhere behind the bushes. It was vaguely familiar to Elena, but she couldn't quite place it. A small figure came out of the bushes holding Reno's EMR.

"You?" Elena suddenly recognized her. It was the little girl that had been locked in the cell with Elena and her father. "You got out?"

"Yup…" She smiled and held the weapon out to Reno. "Mr. Reno, I found this in an open cell."

"Thanks, kid." Reno took the rod, slightly taken aback by the child's honesty and helpfulness.

"Kayla?" Elena bent down so she was at the little girl's level. "Where's your father?"

"Daddy's sick…" Kayla said sadly. "He's still in the cell."

"C'mon." Reno clipped his EMR onto his belt with a satisfied expression on his face. "We'll go get 'im."

Reno took the girl by the hand and the three of them prepared to leave, however Mariko spoke one last time.  
"You… you're a good man, Reno." She put her hands together and smiled kindly. "Good luck." Reno smiled and waved before turning to leave.

"And, Reno?" Mariko called after them. "Your hair… it's very pretty."

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**A/N:**

That's it for this chapter. As usual, try to tell me what you think, any points for improvement or whatever. By the way, I added the little girl called Kayla and her father again, they were in a chapter earlier in the fic, I hope you can remember them. Also, I added the line at the end for a reason, I wonder if anyone can figure out why? 


	16. Chapter 15

**A/N: **This one took me longer than I thought it would. I'm not really keen on it, but at least I've managed to keep it a pretty decent length. I've been thinking about this story, and I've figured out that there will only be two more chapters after this one. Unless my overactive imagination thinks of some other crazy idea. As it stands now, there will be no sequel either, so enjoy while ya can :)

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**Chapter 15**

"Not a bad bunch, deep down, are they?" Reno said casually as he led the way back to the prison cell. Elena followed behind him, holding the hand of the little girl as they made there way back to find Kayla's father.

"They almost killed you, Reno!" Elena said in a shocked voice.

"Nah… I've had nearer misses…" The redhead stopped walking suddenly and checked his surroundings. "Anyone know the odds of these other Shiso turnin' nasty?"

"Rei is dead…" Kayla said quietly, still grasping Elena's hand. "You're the least of their worries."

"Whoa, who would think ya had such logic? You really are one of them, ain't ya kid?" Reno shrugged. "Ah well, if they do I got plenty of ways to kill 'em. 'Kay kid, which one of these cells was your dad in?"

"That one." Kayla lifted a short arm and pointed in the direction of the building nearest them.

"I'm glad you're getting out." Elena said. "I can't believe you were locked up just for

being human."

Reno turned to her with a confused expression on his face, before smirking slightly and carrying on walking towards the prison cell. Elena narrowed her eyes and then picked up her pace momentarily to catch up with him.

"What?" she said suspiciously.

"Nothing." Reno replied innocently. He still had a smug expression on his face that told Elena he knew something she didn't. He looked briefly at the little girl, and then smiled. Elena really hated it when he did that. She was one hundred per cent certain that something was going through his head, but the blond knew that no amount of moaning would make him come clean. He would tell her when he wanted to, and there absolutely nothing she could do about it.

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The three of them entered the dismal prison cell and Elena saw the very familiar man sitting up again the wall. His eyes were closed and he was breathing very heavily. Elena could see even in the dim light from the doorway that his hair was matted with blood and dirt.

"Kayla?" The man looked up, almost as if he had sensed his daughter's presence. A look of relief washed over his face. "You're back!"

"Daddy!" the little girl ran over to her father and hugged him. The man then looked up at the two Turks, with a slightly confused expression on his face.

"That uniform…You're Turks?" he enquired. "What're you doing here?"

"Long story… even if was short I ain't got the time or patience." Reno said quickly. He scratched his head briefly, then frowned. "Okay, listen up… can you stand?"

"I don't know…" The man put both hands on the ground and tried to lift himself. Elena could see he was struggling so she rushed over to help him. Slowly, she put one arm around his back, under his arms, and hoisted him to his feet.

"Okay?" Elena asked. The man nodded his head, although he was gasping for breath a little.

"Ya got a name?" Reno asked, unclipping his EMR from his belt.

"Andy…" the man panted.

"'Kay, Andy…" The redhead looked around swiftly. "We're gonna get outta here, but ya gotta do what I say, okay?"

Andy nodded his head and flexed his ankles, evidently trying to see if everything was working properly. Then he stepped away from Elena, and smiled at her.

"You can manage?" The blond Turk asked.

"Yes, thank you." Andy replied. He ran a hand through his matted black hair, before looking at Reno and frowning. "I thought I had it bad…"

"What?" Reno's eyes widened as he looked expectantly at the man. Andy kept his mouth shut, so the redhead turned to Elena.

"Well, you've only been here a few days, Reno…" The blond said awkwardly. "And you don't look too great."

"Yeah, whatever…" Reno shrugged his shoulders. "I'm alive, ain't I? Now c'mon, let's haul ass outta here."

"Okay?" Elena decided to stay with Andy, as he didn't seem very sturdy on his feet. However, as they started to make their way out of the cell, Elena noticed that Reno wasn't particularly steady either.

Andy stumbled slightly as they walked over the bracken. Elena tried her best to steady him, and he seemed to regain his balance easily enough. Satisfied that he okay, the blond looked across at Reno, having only just realized he'd stopped walking.

"Reno?" Elena stepped closer to the redhead. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah…" Reno nodded vaguely. His head was bowed and his eyes were closed, as though he were in some sort of pain. "'Lena…" at that, he fell to his knees, his eyes still closed.

"You're always playing the hero…" Elena said, trying to pull the redhead to his feet. She managed with ease; he was surprisingly light. "You're a lot more hurt than you've been letting on, aren't you?"

"Shut up, 'Lena…" Reno said quietly. "We've got to get outta here…"

"Come here…" Elena stepped in front of Reno and put her arms around him in a tight embrace. It was quite shocking how thin the redhead actually was, since it was impossible to tell just by looking, because of the size of his suit. As Elena put her arms around him and rested her hands on his hand, she could feel his ribs, even through his clothes. For some reason, feeling the emaciated state he was in sent a pang on guilt through Elena's heart. She guessed it just emphasized her failure; Reno had been depending on her the whole time, trusting that she would get him out before something terrible happened to him. Sure, he might have been putting on an act of being fine, but Reno had always been good at that, and deep down, she knew he must have been in pain. The point was though; did he blame her?

"I'm sorry, Reno." Elena said quietly, her arms still wrapped around the redhead.

"Hey, what are you talkin' about?" Reno said. He pushed back slightly and looked down at Elena.

"You were counting on me, and you still had to get yourself out." The blond shook her head.

"'Laney? I'd be dead if it weren't for you, now cheer up… and let's go." Reno sighed and stretched his arms out, cracking the bones in his back.

Elena watched him and smiled lightly. He was right after all, maybe she hadn't failed. She had managed to get Reno water… and had provided him with comfort when he'd needed it most. After all, that was all she could have done anyway. Now was not a good time for her to be reminiscing on how bad she'd kept her promises in the past, she needed to think about what was happening at that moment; They had the perfect chance to escape, but there was still a chance that things could go wrong, and Reno needed Elena to be strong in case the worst happened.

"Right…" The blond said finally. "Let's go…"

"'Kay… now, where do you two live?" The redhead asked the Andy and Kayla. He still had a weary look about his face, and looked like he could snap like a twig, but Elena admired him for staying so strong, and still taking the role of leader. That was who Reno was, and all Elena had been trying to do was be like Reno. It was only then she realized that wasn't what she wanted at all…

"Just at Bone Village…" Andy said quietly.

"Right…" Reno said in a strange tone. "Hang on… Bone Village's only a small place… surely someone would've noticed that you two were missin'?"

"Maybe…" Andy shrugged. "But we haven't been there for nearly two years… and nobody knows about this place-"

"So they've all given up and assumed that you're both dead." Reno finished the sentence for him and laughed lightly. "Well, won't they get a shock…?"

Reno looked quickly out into the distance. There was a small gap in the trees, where there appeared to be a path. Elena assumed that was where they needed to be, and it appeared she was correct as they Reno began to walk determinedly in that direction. The other three followed him, Elena slightly bemused as to how Reno could actually remember the way out. Then again, knowing Reno, he was probably just as clueless as the rest of them; he just seemed to have all the luck.


	17. Chapter 16

**A/N: **Hey, sorry about the wait. So... once again I was wrong, and there may be two more chapters left after this, I'm not sure. It'll be either one or two anyway. Sorry if it's not up to scratch, I was having some difficulties with it. Also... please review guys? I seem to be getting less and less reviews and it sucks :(

Enjoy

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Chapter 16

The route back was surprisingly unfamiliar to Elena, and she only hoped that Reno had some sort of idea where he was going. When she thought about it though, Elena had no idea how to get back, and she didn't have the confidence like Reno did just to guess. Although Kayla seemed young, she seemed perfectly able to help her father get along, so Elena decided her best efforts should be in sticking by Reno. Every now and then, the blond looked across at her fellow Turk and saw he always had the same undecipherable expression on his face. He seemed to be puzzling something over; possibly, or hopefully the direction they were taking.

"Umm... excuse me?" Elena heard the man behind them say quietly. Elena turned around to see he'd stopped walking. Reno stopped as well.

"Yeah?" The redhead said, crossing his arms.

"Umm... I was just thinking... don't you two need to get back to Midgar?"

"Course..." Reno said, furrowing his brow.

"Well... how?"

"Chopper... just past Bone Village. Don't ya worry."

"Hmm... okay." Andy smiled and began to walk again. Elena was happy to see he was a lot steadier on his feet now; perhaps it was just getting used to it since he'd been stuck in that cell for so long. She turned back to face forwards an nearly screamed at what she saw.

A familiar old man was standing in front of them, leaning heavily on a cane in his left hand. Everything from that point onwards seemed silent; Elena could hear nothing except her own blood rushing through her head... Until Reno spoke.

"You!" there was an anger about the redhead's voice that Elena had never heard before. The blond could remember meeting the old man, but Reno had not been with her at the time. Did that mean the redhead had met him as well.

"Sorry." the man said. His voice was completely dull, and Elena wasn't sure whether it was a sincere apology or not. The man just stared with his piercing blue eyes.

"Shut up." Reno yelled. Any weakness he had shown before had vanished. "You put all of us in danger..."

"No one has a clue what you're talking about." The man hissed, suddenly showing anger Elena wouldn't expect from someone so frail-looking. Once again, although she didn't know why, Elena was scared.

"I don't give a shit. I don't know who you are, but you're about to tell my why you did what you did." Reno said loudly. "You lead us all into danger on purpose."

"Not true." The man raised his eyebrows. "I lead your blond friend away from the Shiso."

"Don't gimme that shit! You're a manipulator... you know how to talk to people to get them to do what you want... now-" Reno stepped forward and grabbed the man by the collar. "You're about to tell me what your game is."  
Elena only just became aware that she was shaking. It wasn't the situation she was scared of, it was Reno. She had never seen him so angry, and she hadn't got a clue what he was talking about. The man _had _tried to lead her away from the Shiso, but she had ignored him. She remembered the way his blue eyes had lit up when Elena had mentioned Reno. She hadn't thought about it before, but he had acted like he knew more than he let on. He had been such an insignificant character in the past week she hadn't given him a second thought.

"Alright." The man choked, dropping his cane on the floor. "I didn't have a choice... the Shiso, they made me."

Reno stared at the man momentarily before sighing and letting go on his collar. He rubbed his windpipe defensively and picked up his cane. "You've done nothin' put piss me off..." the redhead said, looking down at him. "But you're workin' for the Shiso... you ain't gonna be any more trouble."

"Reno?" Elena pleaded. Was he really just going to let this man go? It seemed to Elena that something was running though his head that she would never understand. Something a bit like when he'd decided not to tell Shinra that the Shiso were in fact descendants of the Cetra. What could he possibly be thinking?

"Where do you live?" Reno demanded.

"I live with the Shiso... something tells me a disturbance has occurred..." The man looked blankly at the four other people.

"Oh... shit." Reno cocked his head to one side and pulled his gun inconspicuously out of his pocket. "How the hell do you know that? You're one of them, ain't ya?"

The man cleared his throat, looking completely unnerved, but Elena was speechless. What Reno had suggested was highly possible, but the man didn't resemble the Shiso at all. For a start, he was a man, also his eyes weren't red...  
"Rei? What have you done to her?"

"She bit the dust pal, and unless ya start talkin', you won't be far behind." Reno looked livid again.

"Yes, you're right..." The man sighed again, obviously seeing no other option but to talk. "The Shiso killed all their men long ago, believing them to be not of pure blood. I was the only one who survived, since at the time they didn't realize I even _was _a Shiso."

"So why ya still alive now then?" The redhead inquired.

"Because I'm helping them... their race would've died out if it weren't for me. You see, most of those Shiso aren't pure-blood-"

"Okay, I've heard enough." Reno said loudly. "So thats it, is it? Put other people's lives before your own?"

"You criticize me, but are you any better?" The man seemed unnerved by Reno's growing temper. "You're a Turk, aren't you? I can tell by the uniform... Shinra lap-dog – killing anyone they tell you to, no matter what the reason."

Elena could tell from the twitch under Reno's eye that he had touched a nerve. "You don't know shit, ya jerk!" the redhead yelled. He pulled his gun fully out and wasted no time in firing, shooting the man down dead. Elena couldn't help but feel that Reno had made a mistake, but he had been frightening her, and at least he would probably calm down now. "Bastard." he hissed under his breath.

"Reno?" Andy and Kayla seemed to frightened to say anything, so Elena approached her fellow Turk who was breathing heavily as he put his gun back in his pocket.

"He was gonna be more trouble... he wouldn't have argued if he'd given up the game..." Reno said. He seemed to be trying to comfort himself more than Elena.

"Reno... let's go." Elena put her hand on his back. There was something about the redhead's heavy breathing and silence that she didn't like. She had to hand it to him though, he was doing well given how much he'd been through the past few days.

"Okay..." Reno nodded and seemed to gather his nerves again, and stood up slightly straighter. "C'mon."

Reno started walking, and once Elena was sure Kayla and Andy were going to follow, she started as well. The more they walked, the more familiar her surroundings became. Soon enough, the forest starting thinning slightly, and Elena realized how close they actually were to Bone Village. Not a word was said until they were about 5 minutes away from civilization, when Kayla piped up.

"What's Bone Village like, daddy?" she asked. Elena raised her eyebrows. Andy had said they'd come from Bone Village. If that was where they'd lived, how did she not know what the place was like?

"You'll see soon, sweetie." Andy replied. His voice sounded much stronger now, and Elena guessed once he got home and rested up he'd be fine. Hopefully the same could be said for Reno.

* * *

It was like bliss, stepping out of that dreaded forest and into the small, isolate village. There may have not been many people there, but it was certainly better than the Shiso's dwelling. Elena turned around and her gaze met that of Andy, who looked positively elated. Kayla was looking around the area in awe and her father smiled at the two Turks.

"Thank you so much for your help." he said bowing his head slightly. "I can't tell you how grateful I am."

"It's nothin'." Reno waved off the thanks and looked to Elena. "You 'kay?"

"Yeah." Elena smiled. It was starting to sink in; they were safe. "Wait a second... Andy, if you've been gone for 2 years, do you still have a place to live?"

"I own part of the hotel here... we'd still have a room there, don't worry." Andy replied.

"Now the question is, what about us?" Elena turned to Reno. "We've still got a way to walk to the helicopter."

"Let's rest for a while, huh?" Reno suggested, running his hands through his messy red hair. "C'mon."

Elena knew something was wrong as soon as they entered the hotel. The atmosphere was tense, and everyone seemed to be staring at them; and not in a good way. Reno seemed to pick up on this as well, as he looked uneasy.

"You." The man behind the counter said harshly as soon as he saw the four visitors. "Leave."

"Oh, shit." Reno looked slightly awkward, seemingly thinking something over. "Look-"

"You've caused enough trouble. Leave, now." The man looked positively livid, and Elena didn't know why. Then it clicked... the man Reno had kicked before they'd ran into the Sleeping Forest; it was only a few days before, and it had probably caused quite a stir. Details were bound to have been exaggerated as well, shoving the Turks into the lime-light of being the bad-guys.

"There's a perfectly reasonably explanation to what... oh." Reno stopped talking and it seemed the two Turks picked up on the same detail at exactly the same time; the man behind the counter had a faint purple bruise on his face. "I'm sorry, okay? It was a misunderstanding."

"Sir..." Andy stepped forwards. "These two people saved me and my daughter. Let them stay here tonight."

"A-Andy? Is that you?" The man seemed to double-take.

"Yes it is." Andy turned to Reno and Elena. "This is Kenuo, together we own this hotel."

"Yeah... two years is long time, Andy. Where have you been?" The man named Kenuo asked.

"Another day, Kenuo. Let these two have a room first." Andy whispered. Kenuo nodded and handed Reno a key.

"Room 105." Kenuo said quietly. "Sorry for the... inconvenience."


	18. Chapter 17

**A/N: **To _stars amoungst dust_; Reno knew the man in the hotel behind the counter because he kicked him in the head in Chapter 5. The man was acting strange, and trying to stop them from leaving. Thanks a lot for asking :)

Sooo, here's chapter 17. As I've worked out, there will be two more chapters left now. I'm almost certain :) This chapter has some more sexual stuff in it, so be warned. Nothing to graphic though.

Enjoy and please review!

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Chapter 17

He looked so unbelievably innocent laying there, hugging his own jacket, snoring slightly in his sleep. He had obviously been so tired when they arrived in Room 105 he'd just collapsed on the bed and fallen instantly asleep. Elena, on the other hand, felt slightly more self-conscious about the fact she'd not seen a hairbrush, let alone a shower for near a week. She made her way to their ensuite bathroom and turned on the shower, allowing it to heat up. While she waited, she looked briefly in the mirror, instantly regretting it. Her skin was dull and covered with dirt and blood, and her hair was greasy and matted. _'Well…' _she thought as she tried to run her hand through her hair. _'At least we're out of that place…' _

Elena quickly slipped out of her clothes and stepped into the shower, gasping slightly at the sudden hot water trickling over her body. It was like a whole weight was being taken off her shoulders and she felt instantly relaxed as she let the water run through her hair; to feel so relaxed after spending a week witnessing such horrors as the two Turks had was bliss. Despite this feeling of release, she couldn't get rid of the worry at the back of her mind that she had for Reno. He seemed all right, sleeping off his terrible experience in the next room, but he had been hurt so much, and there were still things he wasn't telling her… hopefully he would come clean, and put Elena's mind at rest.

As she rinsed the last of the soap and dirt off her hair and body, Elena could swear she heard movement in the next room. Her heart beating, she stepped out of the shower, not bothering to switch it off yet, and wrapped a towel securely around herself. Despite the hot water used to wash it, her hair still felt uncomfortably cold on her neck. She shook it slightly in an attempt to rid it of the excess water and walked forwards, intending to check on Reno in the next room. Just as she reached the door however, someone opened it before she could.

"Reno!" the blond gasped as the redhead appeared in the doorway. "You frightened me."

Reno contrasted greatly with the clean interior of the bathroom. He was still covered in dirt and dust, and there was blood on his face. More than anything else, he looked absolutely exhausted.

"Are you alright?" Elena asked when Reno didn't say anything.

"Yeah…" the redhead muttered a reply and smiled slightly. "I was just wondering what you were doing… but I guess I just got my answer…"

"Yeah… just, you know… showering…." Elena stuttered. Why was it so difficult to talk to him all of a sudden? She had never felt more awkward in her life, but she had never felt like that around Reno before. And why was he staring so much? His gaze was definitely flitting up and down her form. It was only as she looked down that she remembered she was only wearing a towel, and a short one at that. The hem of it brushed delicately on her thigh and her bare legs and arms were still dripping wet.

"Nice." Reno suddenly smirked and Elena cursed herself as she blushed heavily. She had completely forgotten how much of a jerk Reno could be.

"Shut up." Elena muttered picking her clothes up off the floor.

"Hey…" Reno said so elusively it caused the blond to look up from what she was doing. His smirk had changed to a vaguely familiar expression; but it was a strange one. "Don't get so worked up… it was a compliment." He was deadly sincere; Elena could tell.

But why would he be so sincere? Obviously, he flirted with people all the time, but he always had that cocky, boyish smile on his face when he did so. But not this time… she had thought that what happened in the cell was just a comfort thing… although she had enjoyed it. Every touch the redhead had made; his hands had been everywhere… but he surely didn't mean it?

Elena didn't even realize as she dropped her clothes on the floor again. Reno was walking towards her, his eyes heavy. His strange expression intensified as he got so close she could feel his warm, sweet breath on her face. He was too close now, and he leaned down slightly so his lips brushed hers. Only for a second though before he put his arms around her and kissed her. It was passionate just like before, but it was gentle, like nothing Elena had ever experienced before. As their tongues touched, it made her whole body tingle and she put her own hands on his waist, desperate for more. It felt strangely comfortable in his arms, so comfortable that she was struggling to make the mental note of moaning at Reno later about putting dirt on her after she had just showered.

After a couple of minutes, Reno pulled away, and it took Elena a moment to come back to her senses. She only just became aware of the shower still running behind her; she should really turn that off. Reno, on the other hand, had different ideas. He edged her gently towards the shower, and as Elena caught onto his idea, she decided to get in touch with her impulsive side again and she quickly unbuttoned his shirt and threw it off his shoulders. She felt a pang of guilt in the bottom of her stomach as she saw the recent cuts on his stomach, but she hastily undressed him, until he was standing in just his boxers, when he dropped Elena's towel off her. She could see his Adam's apple move as he swallowed shakily. Slowly, the blond finished stripping him, and they both stepped automatically into the shower.

Every time he touched her, her spine shivered, despite the hot water, and she leaned in, desperate for more. It didn't take long for the redhead's hair to become saturated as well, and there were soon droplets of water dripping down his face, neck and collarbone. It didn't take long for the dirt and blood to wash off his body, leaving his delicate porcelain skin in its usual condition, ignoring the raw cuts and bruises that scattered his body.

It was the second time they had made love, but it was just as special as the first. Elena wasn't sure why it was happening; she had always thought of Reno as a womanizer, but come to think of it, she'd never seen him with another woman, not properly. But why was he picking her? Was he a lot deeper than he always let on to everyone else? Although none of this bothered her while her and Reno were locked in an embrace, but she was finding it difficult to keep the thoughts out afterwards. She and Reno had dried each other in silence, and Elena had dressed herself while Reno slipped into his boxers and left the room. Elena ran a brush through her hair, still thinking about the mysterious redhead in the next room, and suddenly became aware of how tired she was. She hadn't noticed before, it was like she suddenly dropped; maybe it was Reno, maybe it was the realization off all she'd been through the past few days. Whatever it was, all she wanted to do was sleep.

As she walked into the other room, Reno was already laying down on the bed. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow, but Elena wasn't sure if he was asleep or not. She approached the bed slowly until she was close enough to see his eyes flitting back and forwards underneath his eyelids. She was so certain he was awake, but she didn't want to disturb him for some reason. He just looked so… beautiful was the only word Elena could think of. As quietly as she could, she slipped into the bed beside him, and shivered slightly as he reached and put his arm around her. He didn't say a word, but Elena knew what he meant. He was saying thank you; he was saying sorry; he was saying _'Thank fuck we're outta there.'_

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**A/N: **It's surprising how long this actually took me to write. I don't know why :) I keep writing little bits at a time these days, because I've got so much work to do. Also, I've been suffering with a depressive disorder for a while now, the roots of which are still unknown, so I have an excuse for my writing being so bad :)

Hope you enjoyed it, and let me know what you think :)


	19. Chapter 18

**A/N:**YAY! Hope you all had a good Christmas and a fantastic New Year! I'm finally back, it seems like ages since I've updated anything, but I've had _loads _of work to do over the past few weeks. So yeah, I was gonna put more in this chapter, but I don't really have time, and I felt bad for leaving it so long. A lot is revealed in this chapter, so as usual, if ya don't understand anything just ask. Remember, there's only one more chapter left on this, but I dunno when it'll be up, cause I have a lot of stories going, and also a lot of work to do. Also, there's a couple of rude bits in this chapter... not too bad, but I dunno how sensitive you guys are...

Enjoy the chapter !

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Chapter 18

Elena slept soundly throughout the night. She didn't know how well Reno had slept, but he his eyes were still closed when the blond awoke and he hadn't disturbed her through the night. It only took her a moment to adjust to the light, and then she slipped out from under the covers, careful not to disturb Reno. He remained motionless, so Elena grabbed her clothes and went into the bathroom to get herself ready.

She felt a lot better about herself as she looked in the mirror, although her body did ache quite a bit. Her hair was sticking up a little from going to sleep with it still wet, but she didn't look anywhere near as bad as she had done the day before. Reno had vaguely cleaned himself in the shower, but she knew that he didn't really care; he just wanted to get back. Feeling a lot happier than she had done in a long time, Elena ran her fingers through her hair in an attempt to flatten it. It made a satisfactory job, so she quickly pulled her clothes back on, cringing slightly at how dirty they were, and splashed her face with water, before drying it with a towel.

Back in the other room, Reno still hadn't stirred. He was in exactly the same position as he had been all night, and that was unusual for the restless redhead. Slightly concerned, she made her way over to his side of the bed and leant over so she could see his face.

"Reno?" she shook him slightly, and his aqua eyes snapped open.

"What?" he said quietly.

"Are you alright?" There was something in his tone Elena didn't really like.

Sighing loudly, Reno slowly turned over and pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked slightly pained at the movement.

"I dunno 'bout you, but my body aches like a bitch…" he muttered, rubbing his eyes. He looked exhausted and Elena wasn't sure if he'd even gotten any sleep. 'I guess you're probably feelin' it too…" he smirked slightly as Elena nodded her head.

"Come on, get up." Elena ruffled his hair and stood up straight again as the redhead muttered something under his breath, and roughly stood up. He stretched and Elena cringed as several of his joints cracked.

"Glad to…" he said eventually, loud enough so Elena could hear. "I wanna get outta this hell-hole."

Impossibly quickly, he pulled on his dirty Turk uniform, brushing off some of the dust automatically. He grabbed his EMR from the floor, and pointed at the green duffel bag vaguely. "Grab that, let's go."

* * *

The two Turks left the room and Reno locked it with the key in his hand, which he promptly began swinging around his finger. He seemed to cheer up with every step he took away from the hotel room. They were just leaving the corridor and about to enter the hotel reception when there was a call from behind them.

"Are you leaving now?" The two Turks turned to see the speaker. Andy was standing outside a door, which obviously lead to his room, with his daughter at his heel.

"Yeah, we gotta get back to our… lovin' boss." Reno muttered darkly.

Elena smiled, although she was slightly concerned. She hadn't really thought at the time, but it was really bad idea to have told Andy and Kayla about their job. It wasn't like they knew anything important, but Turks had to try and keep themselves to themselves whenever they could. But it was difficult to do that with Reno around anyway, and she wouldn't be surprised if half the planet's population knew who Reno was.

"Remember though… you don't know who we are and ya never met us." Reno said quickly. It was as though he had read Elena's mind. "Not that the Turks identities are exactly secret anymore, but ya know… it'll be safer for ya."

"Of course…" Andy nodded and smiled. "And… thank you for all your help."

"Don't mention it…" Reno shook off the man's gratitude casually. "Well… see ya then."

"Bye-bye, Mr Reno." Kayla said loudly. "Bye-bye Elena."

"Bye, kid..." Reno said, smiling amusedly. "Oh… thank for findin' my… stick…"

The four of them finished saying their goodbyes and the two Turks left, albeit a little sadly for Elena. It was always difficult to say goodbye to someone forever, even if she didn't know them very well. On the way out of the village, Elena looked at Reno, to see if he shared the same feeling. The redhead appeared emotionless, staring blankly ahead as they walked out into the small part of the Sleeping Forest that surrounded Bone Village. Elena thought she could detect a hint of something negative in his eyes, but she doubted it was for the same reason the blond felt down. She could tell something was bothering him though.

"Reno?" Elena deliberately stepped in front of the redhead to stop him in his tracks.

"What?" Reno replied, slightly shocked at the abrupt interruption.

"Are you gonna tell me what's been going on?" she asked fairly patiently.

"What'd'ya mean?" Reno raised an eyebrow and looked at Elena genuinely confused. "You mean about the Shiso…?"

"Yes… I do." Elena crossed her arms. "You told me you didn't know, but then you spoke to that old man like you knew something… and to Andy…"

"All right, all right… I ain't arguing with ya, I just didn't wanna tell ya." Reno smirked slightly, making Elena smile. She knew he couldn't stay serious for long, but she was worried about him. "So… what do you think the Shiso wanted with me?"

"I don't know…" Elena said. She did have one idea in her head, but it was vulgar, and she didn't want to say it.

"Well… the Shiso having ingeniously wiped out all of their men, they're a dying race…"

"So, they wanted you for-" Elena began. She had suspected it, but it was still a shocking development.

"'Reproduction'." Reno said before laughing slightly. "I never thought of it before to be honest… it's kinda like being raped by a woman… I always thought that'd be kinda awkward…"

"Shut up…" Elena tapped him lightly on the side of the head. "Only you would laugh about it… but it's really serious."

"What's the matter, 'Laney?" a smirked crept its way onto the redhead's face. "Ya jealous?"

"I'm being serious, Reno…" Elena couldn't help but smile slightly. "Did any of them…?"

"I dunno…" Reno shrugged his shoulders. "Why does it matter?"

"Because…" Elena suddenly made a loud tutting noise. "I don't get it though… why you? You're not a Shiso…" the blonde trailed off.

"I don't know…" Reno shook his head. "But Kayla weren't born here. She was born with the Shiso… Andy fell in love with a Shiso… but they didn't approve of their love apparently. Ya know, the usual tragic romance shit. But then I think they musta realized that Kayla looked like a Shiso anyway… I'm not sure…"

"Hmm…" Elena thought this over for a minute. It seemed to make sense, although there was one thing Elena wasn't sure of. "But what if one of them had a child… and it, you know, looked like you. I bet that hair color is very dominant for a start." The blond eyed Reno's hair. "Imagine a load of kids over there taking after you; the whole race would be wiped out in a day."

"I find that offensive…" Reno scowled jokingly. "Although it would do the world a favor…"

"Hmm, I guess it would." Elena smiled slightly and looked around the forest they were standing stationary in. "Another thing though… why aren't you going to tell anyone about the Shiso?"

"Why d'ya think?" Reno raised an eyebrow and stepped around Elena to carry on walking. "What do ya reckon would happen if I told?"

"They'd send someone down here…" Elena followed the redhead, trying to catch up. "They're always wanting Cetra descendants to experiment on."

"Yeah… and what if one of them _is _pregnant?" Reno said, not looking back to Elena.

The blond thought about this for a moment as she kicked up her pace to keep up with the redhead. He was right, but did that mean there was a softer side to Reno? Elena had never really thought about it before, but maybe it was just human nature to care for your own child, even if it was unwanted or unknown. But then again, it had always been Reno's main priority to go against human nature at any given opportunity. She wondered vaguely if Reno had come down with some sort of Stockholm Syndrome… she doubted it, but there was still an air of mystery shrouding the situation.

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**A/N: **There ya go! Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!

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	20. Chapter 19

**A/N: **Okay, okay, I KNOW I said this would be the **last **chapter, but unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how much you like the story) I wasn't able to fit everything into this chapter. But I'm absolutely positively sure the **next chapter will be the last one!! **I got to nearly 2000 words, and thought, screw it. So yeah, enjoy!!**

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**Chapter 19**

Not much more was said on the situation as the two Turks made their way back to the helicopter. The journey seemed much more strenuous than it had done on the way to Bone Village, but they managed it. As the helicopter came in visual range, Elena looked at the redhead. He had a slightly fed-up expression on his face, and there was a layer of sweat on his brow. This was unusual considering the redheaded Turks unusually high endurance, but Elena but it down to what he had been through the past few days.

As they reached the helicopter, Reno stretched his arms out above his head and sighed loudly.

"Never thought I'd be glad to see this piece of shit." The redhead muttered, kicking the side of the helicopter, resulting in a loud thud.

"Don't break it before we get out of here." Elena laughed lightly.

"I don't think that's likely." Reno said as he opened the door and climbed inside the helicopter, Elena at his heels.

"Well, we haven't exactly had the best of luck lately, have we?" Elena smiled at Reno, who flicked a few switches on the dash of the helicopter, and started the engine. It made a worrying whirring noise as it kicked into life.

"Prepare yourself for a bumpy ride, 'cause we're gettin' outta here no matter what." The redhead muttered while making a few alterations to the controls.

"Wait, wait… what do you mean?" Elena interrupted abruptly. "What's wrong with it?"

"Nothin'." Reno said quietly. "But given our position, there's still static in the air. It'll just be a little rough, that's all." Elena stared at him, still not convinced. The redhead sighed. "Look, would you prefer to stay here?"

"No." Elena said quickly. "It's just-"

"Don't worry." Reno interrupted her. "I'm pretty good with this thing; I've been through worse than this shit anyway."

Elena closed her eyes and felt herself ascending, but to her shock she didn't find herself that scared. Maybe it was just the fact that nothing could compare to what they had just made their way out of; maybe it was the fact that she had grown to know that Reno was a lot more competent than he let on; maybe she just felt safer with Reno now. Whatever it was, it was enough to enable the blond to open her eyes, and realize there wasn't much to be afraid of. She looked over to the redhead, who had that less-than-familiar expression of concentration on his face that said he really did care what happened to them. Just like Elena, all he seemed to want was to get back home safely.

* * *

A warm wave of relief washed over Elena as she felt the helicopter descend over the Shin-Ra headquarters. It was a place she never thought she'd be so happy to see. Reno carefully landed the helicopter with a slight bump, and the engine droned into silence. Reno tapped his feet quickly on the floor before opening the door to the helicopter and jumping out. Elena followed suit and made her way around to stand with Reno.

"Well." Reno said in a slightly defeated tone. "That's the last time I'm doin' Tseng a favor… damn dot-head's too busy to help out his _favorite _pair of Turks…"

"Reno, it wasn't exactly a _favor_, we get paid to do this." Elena said bluntly as the two of them walked away from the helicopter.

"Yeah… well, I don't get paid anywhere near enough for all that crap." The redhead muttered as he began to make his way down the stairs into the Shin-Ra building.

"Just be thankful we got about alive…" Elena called after him as she followed. Her voice echoed hollowly around the stairwell as they practically sprinted their way down. Upon entering the actual building, Reno threw open the door nearest them and sauntered down the hallways to the Turk's offices, obviously not caring whether Elena was following him.

* * *

It didn't take long for them to make their way down to the offices, although everything seemed strangely quiet. Reno seemed oblivious to this, and marched straight up to Tseng's office door and threw it open.

"Hey, boss-man." Reno said, as said superior's head shot up sharply. "How ya doin'?"

"Nice of you to show up." Tseng said. His voice was slightly blunt, but Elena could see the relief in his eyes.

"Well… I'm sorry if it's a bit of an inconvenience to ya." Reno said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "I would've got out sooner… but ya know, attempted murder, et cetera."

"What happened?" Tseng asked, obviously trying to ignore Reno's satire.

"If it's of no further nuisance to you, _sir_…" Reno said in a mocking tone. "I can't really be bothered to talk right now… I think I'm just gonna…"

The redhead stopped at that and leaned heavily on Tseng's desk. He took one deep breath in, and promptly collapsed on the floor. Elena rushed over and leant down to check if he was okay.

"Sorry 'bout that." The redhead slurred, opening his eyes slightly.

"Are you okay?" Elena asked, putting a hand on his forehead. It felt slightly clammy, but nothing unusual.

"Yeah…" Reno muttered and stumbled to his feet again.

"I think maybe it would be best if you went to the infirmary to be checked over…" Tseng said eying Reno suspiciously. "I don't know what happened to you two while you were out there, but to put it bluntly, you both look like crap."

"Well, thanks for that vote of confidence, sir… c'mon 'Laney, let's go." Reno motioned for them to leave, and they did so, closing Tseng's office door behind them. "Ass-hole." He muttered under his breath.

"Reno?" Elena called. "Are you going to the infirmary? I think you should."

"Yeah." Reno said over his shoulder. "You should probably get checked over anyway, better to be safe than sorry."

Elena sighed, hurrying after the redhead. It was typical of him not admit to being hurt. The blond had to admit though, the further she walked, the more her body began to ache, and there was a distinct pain in her left knee. She knew that Reno had definitely got the raw end of the deal, and he probably felt terrible, although he would never admit it. Elena quickened her pace to walk next to Reno, who was walking inhumanely fast for some reason.

Upon reaching the infirmary, Reno tapped loudly on the doctor's office door. Elena found it slightly curious that the redhead would knock on the doctor's door, but not on Tseng's, but cast the thought aside.

"Oh, hey there." A tall, blond woman opened the door and smiled at the two Turks. "What've you been getting yourselves into now?" The doctor made a 'tsk' noise under her breath, and made her way into the room next door. Reno and Elena followed her into a small room, similar to that of an average doctor's surgery. Reno plopped down on a chair and sighed.

"So, what is it this time then, Reno?" the doctor asked. Somehow, it wasn't surprising that the young, curvaceous doctor knew Reno's name.

"Just general shit, ya know?" Reno muttered. "I got pretty… what?" The redhead paused and looked at the doctor, who appeared to be staring blatantly into his eyes. "Don't you start as well… I've had enough of that kinda thing…"

"Be quiet a minute." The doctor said subtly but sternly. Still staring into Reno's eyes, she held up her pen in front of him. "Follow this with your eyes."

Elena watched as the redhead did as he was told and followed the pen with his pale eyes… left… right… up then down, until the doctor finally rested the pen on the table. "Have you been hit on the head while doing whatever you were doing?"

"Erm… I dunno, maybe?" Reno said vaguely. He scratched his head. "What?"

"You have a concussion." She raised an eyebrow. "I notice your uniform is covered in blood, are you cut anywhere?

"Yeah…" Reno grudgingly unbuttoned his shirt and showed the doctor the cuts across his stomach. Elena felt a familiar pull in the bottom of her chest as she looked over the redhead's bare torso. She couldn't help but notice that the cuts didn't look like they had completely stopped bleeding.

"That's going to need some stitches." The doctor said, tracing a finger over one of the cuts. "I'll get to it in a minute. First, I need to see to your friend here." The doctor smiled over at Elena. "You don't look so bad… anything you think needs checking out?"

"No, I'm okay." Elena said. She decided her recently aching knee wasn't as important as Reno's injuries. She would be fine.

"Okay then." The doctor nodded in a satisfied manner. "I'll get Reno sorted out then."

"I'll see you later, Reno." Elena smiled and waved at the redhead, who granted her with an irritated rolling of his eyes. The blond decided it would be best to leave the doctor in peace to stitch Reno's cuts.

The blond paced down the corridor, wondering what to do with herself. She wasn't sure how long the doctor would be in stitching the redhead's wounds, but she decided she didn't really have the energy or the patience to do anything work related. Smiling slightly to herself, she pushed 'down' button next to the elevator and waited patiently.

"So, after all that, was the mission a success?" came a voice from behind. Elena turned to see Tseng standing behind her, his arms behind his back. Elena smiled and held up the green bag she had forgotten had been on her arm.

"Yes, sir." She said. "We got the materia back. I think all of it's here." She shook the bag gently as the elevator made a sharp, ringing noise, signalling its arrival. Smiling, Elena passed the bag to Tseng. "Could you take that sir? There's some of Reno's materia in there as well, but he's over at the infirmary being patched up."

"Okay." Tseng took the bag gratefully. "Well done. I'm glad you both got out okay. I'll see you later." Elena's raven-haired superior walked away, leaving the blond to enter the now-open elevator. Hastily, Elena pushed the down button, intending to go to the entrance of the building. The doors slid closed and the blond felt the familiar dropping sensation in her stomach as the elevator descended. There was another ringing noise, and Elena stepped out into the Shin-Ra building's foyer.

It was slightly cold outside, but it didn't bother Elena, she was used to it after being out in the open so much. The slow breeze pushed her hair across her face as she looked out into her slum surroundings. It wasn't much, but it really was good to be home.

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**A/N: **There ya go! I'm sorry if it seemed a bit rushed, i was trying to squeeze it all in ya know? Hope you enjoyed it, and you'll all see me again when I upload the last chapter, shouldn't be tooooo long. :) Sees ya!!


	21. Chapter 20

**A/N: **Here it is! I made it a round 20... well 21 technically I suppose. But yeah, this is the last chapter. I had to shorten it slightly at the end, because once again, I underestimated how long this would be, and I didn't want to split it again. I hope everyone remembers Mariko, the more talkative Shiso from earlier in the story. I don't really have a lot to say about this chapter, except there's quite a bit of speech in it, and for some reason it felt pretty repetative. I think it turned out okay though.

It came to me though, that I never actually told what inspired this story. Well, to anyone who wants to know, here goes: I live in an extremely remote house, on a country lane, and one day when I was in a particually horrible mood, I went for a walk to the nearest village, where my friend lives, about 2 and a half miles away. It took me an hour to walk there, and by the time I got back onto my country road, it was dark. There's a particularly horrible part on my road where there's a steep mud bank and then a load of trees. So you pretty much can't see at all. I kept looking up through the trees and eventually I saw the outline of some big dog or something. I dunno what it was to be honest but I was f*cking scared, and I ran literally a mile, all the way back to my house. It was even worse because there is a black panther loose in my area... I don't know where it came from lol, but I've seen it several times, so I know it's real.

So yeah, there's a little bit of useless information for ya, so without anymore sh*t, here's chapter 20!

Enjoy!

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Chapter 20

"Ya sure ya don't wanna get your leg checked out?"

Elena jumped slightly and turned to see Reno standing in the entrance to the Shin-Ra building. The blond had no idea how long she'd been standing outside, but it must have been a while. Reno looked slightly better; he seemed to have cleaned himself properly, but there was an element of exhaustion about his face. His eyes were heavy, but he was smiling, which was always a good sign.

"How did you-" Elena started.

"Maybe I'm just observant…" Reno shrugged his shoulders and grinned.

"Nothing gets past you, does it?" The blond Turk shook her head; Reno always seemed to notice everything.

"Not a lot…" the redhead laughed. "But seriously… you okay?"

"Yeah…" Elena said, slightly breathlessly. It was curious to hear words like that come out of the redhead's mouth. He had been acting extremely strangely since they'd left the Shiso camp, and there seemed to be a distinct lack of communication between the two of them. Elena had things running through her head that she wanted to talk about. Her mind kept drifting back to what had happened once in the Shiso camp, and once at the hotel in Bone Village. She wondered what Reno thought of it, and mainly whether it meant anything. She could remember thinking over and over at the time '_it's just a comfort thing'; _something that brought the two of them so close together that Elena didn't need to feel scared any longer.

"Whatcha thinkin' 'bout?" The redhead asked suddenly. Somewhere in the midst of Elena's chain of thought, he had walked over to her and stood behind, looking over her shoulder.

"Nothing much." Elena turned to Reno and smiled. "Are you feeling okay now?"

"Yeah… all right, I guess." Reno looked out into the slums and sighed. "It's good to be home, huh?" he laughed hollowly. Elena looked at him, slightly concerned.

"Yeah… it is." She said unsurely. "Reno-"

"Okay, okay." The redhead interrupted her loudly, with an irritated expression on his face. "'Laney… I wanna talk to you… about the sex."

"Yeah?" Elena flushed slightly at Reno's blatant reference to what had happened. She should have known that he wouldn't be discreet about it.

"Before I say anythin'… I wanna know… did it mean anything to you?" Reno's hard, turquoise gaze was unnerving, and Elena found herself unable to look him in the eye.

"It's funny…" Elena settled on looking back out to the slums. "I was just thinking about that."

"And?" Reno demanded. Elena couldn't help but smile at the fact Reno seemed so bothered about it. Elena stayed silent for a moment and listened to the wind whistling through the dark alleyways.

"It… meant something to me. But I won't be hurt if you say it meant nothing to you." Elena settled on saying. She didn't want to seem desperate, and she had to bear in mind Reno's reputation.

"Hmm?" Reno leaned forwards, as though willing Elena to look him in the eye. Elena flushed in response.

"I just… can't imagine someone like _you _actually meaning something like that…" Elena laughed nervously at the expression on Reno's face. "You didn't… right?" the blond immediately wished she had kept her mouth shut.

"What's that s'posed to mean; someone like _me_?" Reno said heatedly, raising an eyebrow.

"Nothing… just things I've heard… around the building, you know." Elena felt her face burning at her complete misapprehension of the redhead.

"Ha…" Reno laughed flatly. "Don't believe everything you hear, especially when you don't hear the whole story."

"You mean-"

"I only ever mess 'round." The redhead explained. Elena was relieved to hear that he sounded a little less angry, but there was still a temperamental quality to his voice that made Elena feel uncomfortable. "I think the term 'womanizer' is used a little loosely around here."

"I didn't mean-" Elena sighed. She had dug herself a hole, and no amount of stuttering and stammering was going to change it from the look of the situation.

"Don't worry about it." Reno laughed again, but this time a little more warmly. "It's not your fault that all the women chase after me…"

Elena laughed and tapped the redhead lightly on the side of the head. She knew that he was obviously still bothered, but she was quite happy to ignore the underlying anger if Reno was trying to cover it up with humor.

"Anyway, why don't you answer your own question?" Elena said eventually. She figured if Reno was allowed to make her feel awkward, she was allowed to do the same.

"What question?" he replied distantly.

"Did it mean anything to you?" Elena cursed herself silently. She was trying to make him feel awkward, but all that was happening is that she could feel her face reddening again. Reno turned and grinned at her.

"Ya think I would've done it twice if it didn't?" he said confidently. "Is this a touchy subject to you?" he put the back of his hand on her burning face. Elena cringed slightly at the coldness of his touch, but savored it all the same. "But yeah… it meant something to me. And if it turned out it didn't, it wouldn't matter. At least ya kept me warm."

Elena smiled and turned back out to the slums again. It seemed things were finally coming together for her, but to be honest, she would be happy as long as she was reassured she would never have to return to the Northern Crater or the Shiso camp again…

* * *

"Reno!" Elena shouted loudly. "Where are we going?"

"Out." Reno replied.

"Where?"

"Somewhere." Reno grinned as he jumping into the helicopter, motioning for Elena to do the same. Elena sighed before obliging. There was no compromising with the redhead once he got like that.

The helicopter kicked into action and Reno turned to Elena and grinned. The latter sighed, and deliberately looked away, ignoring him.

"Ooh… silent treatment, eh?" Reno laughed evilly. "Don't worry, we're going someplace nice."

Elena smiled slightly, but still didn't speak. It wasn't just the fact that he wouldn't tell her where they were going; there were a number of reasons. One was the fact that the redhead had dragged her out of work for this, which would probably lead to a lecture from Tseng. Another was that he had tried to convince her previously that it was a mission, even though there had been no mention of it from Tseng.

After about 10 minutes, Elena's anger at the redhead increased tenfold. She had been noting the direction in which they were going, and there was a familiar shudder through the helicopter, caused by static as the Northern Crater came into view.

"Reno-" Elena said angrily.

"Shh." He replied. Elena stopped speaking, in hope that he was going to explain himself, but the explanation never came.

"Why are we here?" Elena demanded. "What if something bad happens? What if-"

"You talk too much." Reno muttered without taking his eyes off his surroundings. "And people moan at me."

"Well answer me then!" The blonde replied almost hysterically. She couldn't keep the desperation out of her voice.

"All right, all right. Nothing bad will happen. I've been messin' 'round in the wiring. The electrical interference insulator was screwed. It'll be fine now."

"Well, that's reassuring." Elena said sarcastically. It was just the thing she needed to send her racing heart almost into overdrive.

The blond calmed slightly as she felt the helicopter descending. Reno had been right in the fact that there had not been much electrical interference, but that didn't stop her steaming mood. The engine whirred into nothing and Reno turned to Elena. The blond did not return his gaze however.

The first thing Elena noticed was that they had not landed anywhere near the same place as they had last time. In fact, the redhead had somehow managed to land right near where the Shiso camp was. Elena recognized it as the place in which Reno had gone missing before, and the Shiso had taken him.

"Why are we here?" Elena asked bluntly. Her anger was clearing having no effect on him, as he seemed completely apathetic towards her emotions.

"You'll see. C'mon." Reno opened the door and jumped to the floor, landing slightly cat-like. Elena did the same and followed him to stand by the front of the helicopter.

"Are we going back to the Shiso camp?" she asked him, trying to keep her temper.

"Yep." The taller Turk said happily. "And it's over there-" he pointed through the trees, which was the complete opposite direction in which Elena had taken that first time. "It's right across the bank."

"I don't much care where it is, Reno. Just tell my why we're here."

"What was that Shiso's name again?" Reno said, seemingly ignoring Elena's question. "The one that spoke most… Marie… Mar-"

"It was Mariko." Elena said quickly. "And answer my question."

"Sight-seeing." Reno replied, and proceeding in making his way up the mud bank towards the Shiso camp. Elena shook her head and followed him; she knew he wasn't going to share his thoughts.

The path up the bank, although short, was extremely steep, and Elena found herself more than once slipping in the mud. She had also felt the tree branches brush past her roughly many times, and was sure she had more than a few scratches on her face. It had only been a few days since Reno had had his stitches in his stomach, and since he hadn't even had them taken out again, Elena wasn't sure how he had been managing so well.

It may have brought back bad memories, but as soon as the two Turks reached the top of the bank and the Shiso camp came into view, it still took Elena's breath away. She had never seen it from such height, and the small huts looked minute from that distance. The crystal white trees towered over the glittering lake, and the whole scene looked undisturbed.

"Ya see… it's pretty nice huh?" Reno said, looking back at Elena. He was smiling slightly, and Elena briefly thought about whether his claim of 'sight-seeing' had any truth in it. "You said it was Mariko, right?"

"Yes." Elena said impatiently. "Are you going to tell me what we're doing here yet?"

"Nope." Reno said happily. "C'mon."

The two Turks made their way down the bank, which was equally steep on that side. The sense of foreboding increased in Elena's stomach with every step they took, and by the time they got to the bottom, she was so nervous she felt slightly light-headed.

"You okay, 'Laney?" Reno asked, looking at her confusedly. "Ya look a bit pale."

"I'm fine." Elena snapped. "Or I would be if you didn't leave me in the dark so much."

Reno didn't reply, but his face adopted an angry expression, similar to that from when Elena had criticized his womanizer reputation a few days earlier. The blond was utterly clueless this time as to what she had done wrong.

"I left you in the dark-" he said. "-because it was a _surprise._"

"A surprise? You've got a funny idea of a surprise." Elena raised an eyebrow at her companion. At the moment, she was too annoyed to worry about hurting his feelings.

"Are you scared? There's no reason to be scared… what's the worst that could happen?"

"We could be killed!" Elena said exasperatedly. "Or worse-"

"By who?" The older Turk laughed as he stretched his arms out. "They don't have a leg to stand on. They've got nothing left. I know the story-" he put on a high-pitched voice as he carried on. "-'_I'll never forgive you if we get caught Reno' _blah, blah… don't worry. I know what I'm doing."

He tapped his nose knowingly and carried on walking. Elena shook her head at the fact that he had just had argued with himself, and once again followed in his tracks.

"It's okay for you! You can say that… I don't think you realize how close you were to dying!" Elena called after him, trying to keep up.

"Yeah."

"You practically starved to death!"

"Yeah."

"They cut you so bad you needed stitches!"

"Yeah."

"You're not listening to word I'm saying, are you?" Elena grabbed hold of Reno's arm to stop him.

"Yeah, I am. I'm just not really _absorbing _the info, ya know?" Reno laughed and pulled free of Elena's grip to carry on walking. "Ya need to learn to trust me-"

The redhead stopped in his tracks and his face paled at the sight in front of him. They had reached the outside of one of the Shiso huts, and a woman was standing outside, with an angry expression on her face.

"Ahh… Mariko?" Reno's stature loosened immediately. The woman instantly smiled.

"Reno?" She said lightly. "You are… back?"

Reno nodded and looked over the woman in front of them. The first thing Elena noticed was the absence of tattoos. Every single one of the black markings that had previously been on all the Shiso's bodies was gone on Mariko. Her hair and eyes were still the same, but her expression was much mellower than it had been before. Elena noticed that she constantly had her hand on her stomach, rubbing it gently.

"Oh…" Reno seemed to have noticed the latter point as well. "So, parenthood?"

"Yes." Mariko suddenly gained a gleeful expression. "We are all very excited for it."

"Awesome…" Reno looked genuinely impressed, but his face dropped as he turned away. "Let's hope she doesn't call over for child support." He muttered. "C'mon."

Elena smiled as Reno led them over to the glimmering lake. The blond had to admit, the thought of the Shiso having Reno's baby irritated her slightly, but the situation could have turned out so much worse.

Reno suddenly stopped walking, and dropped down on the floor between the lake and a bush. Elena did the same, and looked up expectantly at him.

"I thought you might wanna come here and talk a bit more… about ya know." Reno said, scratching the back of his head. Elena smirked; despite his reputation as a womanizer, he certainly was new to this. In a way, it gave her a little more reassurance. Reno wanted to talk about it, which meant he cared… she had to say it, so it was now or never.

"I think…" She began. She realized immediately her voice was too quiet, and too timid, so she cleared her throat and tried again. "I think I love you."

Reno stared at her, clearly shell-shocked. It was easy enough to suspect such a feeling, but Elena guessed him actually hearing it was a different story. Elena felt herself blush again, and turned away.

"Heh..." Reno laughed. "You ain't so bad yourself."

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**A/N: **There you go! That's it. To be honest, I can't actually believe I've finished this, it seems like I've been writing it forever. Thanks so much to everyone who has read and reviewed, you are what keeps the stories alive! Now, I have a favor to ask you all! -grins-

To all of you who have read my other story, 'Lithium', I started a sequel for it a while ago, 'Slither'. It only has two chapters, but I don't have many reviews at all for it. If you read Lithium, could ya please take a look at Slither? I would appreciate it so much, as without reviews, I can't pick up on how to improve my stories. Thanks a lot everyone!


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